


Draco and the Boy-Lost-In-Time

by Kitsuchin



Series: Teddy - The Accidental Time-traveller [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Consensual Underage Sex, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, JKR killed them first, M/M, Minor Character Death, Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22877377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsuchin/pseuds/Kitsuchin
Summary: Draco Malfoy’s world broke down a few weeks after his first days at Hogwarts when his parents got sentenced to Azkaban for being Death Eaters. Thankfully, his mother bought her way out by giving valuable pieces of information to the Ministry, but even that drove Draco more away from everything he ever knew.That was until Draco met Teddy Wolfe, a boy like none other who had unilaterally decided to befriend him despite his parents’ actions. Thanks to Teddy, Draco could live and start to believe in the future again. Of course, Teddy was also Harry The Boy-Who-Lived Potter’s best friend and Draco hated to share him but, as month by, he managed to come up with an arrangement with the Gryffindor’s poster boy – their common friend was more important than their pity rivalry.That’s how Draco started to tolerate the insufferable Potter…
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Teddy Lupin/??
Series: Teddy - The Accidental Time-traveller [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1644478
Comments: 28
Kudos: 94





	1. Set-in

**Author's Note:**

> This is a spin-off to my other fic _Teddy and the Boy-Who-Lived_. Please note that it is not a direct continuation of the first story. This one follows Draco and concentrates on Draco’s pov (and thus, spoiler, on the Drarry) as they go through the same events as described in the main story from their 4th year to the epilogue. You can probably read this fic without reading the main story but please note that I won’t elaborate on many plot points if they had been tackled in the main fic and Draco’s pov has nothing new to add.  
> I’ll try to put what chapters in the main story are covered in this one at the beginning of each chapter if you want to read both fics simultaneously and don’t want to be spoiled. However, as time goes differently in each story, it won’t be easy to avoid all spoils.  
> I'll try to add a new chapter every week. I'm currently 13 chapters in. 
> 
> Enjoy~~
> 
> Chapter 1 of Draco's POV covers chapters 1 to 21 of Teddy's POV

Draco Malfoy had always been very sure of what he wanted in life. Of course, what he wanted was not always possible, but his father taught him that, in that case, he should surround himself with people who would make it possible. Draco’s father had always told him that that was what relationships had always been based on – need, usefulness, and power. People like to put fancy words on that like ‘ _friendship_ ’ or ‘ _love_ ’ because it made them feel better about themselves. But in the end, people would always try to connect with him for one and only thing: gaining something from it.

Growing up, Draco had to admit that life had proven his father right. When he was a child, he had noticed how the parents of his so-called _friends_ were sometimes forcing their children to play with him only to get the opportunity to talk to his own father. Lucius Malfoy had also taught his son to take advantage of this situation. That’s how Draco had formed an alliance with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle before he even started Hogwarts. The two boys were taller, larger and stronger than him, they could protect him from older students if they ever decided to pick on him.

Draco had learnt his lesson well. He knew most of the people around him were kind or mean to him depending only on what they thought about his parents… or more often what their own parents thought for younger people. So, when Lucius Malfoy was arrested for being a Death Eater and couldn’t get his way around it, Draco knew immediately that his own world was finished and nothing he ever wanted would ever be possible anymore…

That was until Draco met Edward ‘Teddy’ Wolfe.

Teddy was nothing like anyone Draco had ever met. He was kind and funny, yet he could scheme and tease. The boys knew things… too many things for his own good. Yet, he didn’t seem to use this knowledge to lure people around him. Draco’s mother had always said that knowledge was power. She had been the perfect wife to his father for years, listening and laughing pleasantly to his partners’ dubious jokes while silently taking away crucial pieces of information. And when the time came for her to save herself and her son from Lucius Malfoy’s disastrous choices in life, she used those pieces of information wisely.

Draco had wondered why Teddy decided to come to him. Because that what it was. A decision. Draco had certainly done nothing to encourage him to do so… Yet, Teddy had sat and talked with him for hours. Listening to his worries, using his peculiar knowledge to sooth him instead of crushing him…

Teddy had also willingly given him crucial information about himself. He had told Draco that his father was a werewolf. That single piece of information combined with the fact that Teddy was friend with Harry the Boy-Who-Lived Potter would be enough to make Teddy the most hated person in Hogwarts and thus saving Draco from that position. Seriously, how would people react if they learnt that a dark creature had lurked and became their very Light Saviour’s best friend in less than a few weeks? Teddy seemed to know what he had done when he had told Draco. Yet, he had done it. As if he trusted Draco… or maybe it was just a test or a way to manipulate him…

As weeks passed by, Draco’s wariness about this newly found friendship lessened down and when he saw his friend crashing into tears next to his hospital bed because he had been so worried Draco could have died eaten by a giant three-head dog… Draco just quitted doubting him.

Teddy was his friend. His first real and best friend.

And he had to share him with Potter… which sucked. But unlike what Draco had expected, Potter didn’t try to drive Teddy away. By the end of that year, Draco and Potter had made a deal. Never would they ever do something that would force Teddy to choose between the two of them. Teddy didn’t deserve something like that. And if one of them was worried about Teddy, he would tell the other.

So, Potter told Draco how Teddy seemed to have been through a break down on Christmas Day. And Draco told Potter when he noticed, despite Teddy always talking about his large and loving family, none of them seemed to ever owl the boy. Not even his godlike godfather who didn’t seem to have time to spare on his beloved godson, even for Christmas or for Teddy’s birthday. Draco was mad at the man even if he didn’t know him.

The biggest blow had been on Teddy’s parents’ death anniversary though…

Draco and Potter had watched their friend recollecting on the edge of the Black Lake. Then, they had walked him to the Castle as Professor Sprout had asked to see him and Draco had left when they met Sirius Black – now Lord Black – his mother’s infamous cousin. Draco’s mother had talked to Draco about the man in her letters that year. She wasn’t sure how they should act regarding him yet. He was a wild card. So, Draco decided to keep it as neutral as possible. The man clearly had prejudices against him already and, even if Teddy defended him, he didn’t want to stay near the man longer than necessary… So, he had left Teddy with Potter and went back to his Common Room.

However, when Teddy didn’t show up at dinner despite Potter being here, Draco felt like something very wrong happened.

“Potter… May I speak to you?” he asked, standing nervously next to the Gryffindor table.

The other boy only nodded and followed him outside the Hall. He looked upset which didn’t do anything to calm Draco’s nerves.

“What happened? Where’s Teddy?” Draco asked as soon as they were in some secluded area.

“With Sirius… They needed to go to the Ministry of Magic. His godfather died.”

“What?? How??? When????”

“… last summer…” Potter muttered looking away while fighting his tears.

Draco froze. “You’re kidding, right?”

Potter shook his head. “I don’t know how… just that… Teddy said it’s an accident… and that… he feels responsible,” he sighed. He was clearly trying his best to stay calm. “Sirius… Sirius said that Teddy was the Black Heir and that… that he could adopt him or something like that if Teddy had nowhere to go…”

“His godfather died last summer???” Draco exploded. “Why didn’t he say anything????? And what do you mean Heir Black?! My mother is from the main branch of the Black family! She would have known!!!!”

“How would I know?!! He didn’t tell me either, okay??!!!!” Potter yelled back.

They were both crying, and Draco thought they must have looked stupid.

It was unsettling… To realise that despite everything Teddy seemed to have told Draco about himself, he still had kept so much for himself.

Draco had had to work with that knowledge for the next few weeks of school. What was even worse was that he had received a letter from Sirius Lord Black himself, explaining that Teddy was under some sort of Fidelius Charm and that asking him too much about his godfather’s death could permanently turn him into a vegetable… Who would ever put a child under the Fidelius Charm?!!! How do they expect Draco to tame his killing morbid curiosity????

But Teddy was more important. Even if he lied or at least did his best to hide the truth, Teddy was still Draco’s best friend and the Slytherin felt like Potter had breached their truce by stealing Teddy over for the next two months of holidays.

Draco would never admit it aloud, but he was afraid. Afraid of what Potter could say about him. Afraid about what Black could say about him or his mother! Let alone his father… What if spending two whole months with those two changed the way Teddy was looking at him?? What if Teddy didn’t want to be his friend anymore after that???

But Draco’s fear had been proven unfounded. Teddy had surprised him by giving him a chance to stay in touch wherever he was and whenever he wanted.

He called through the two-way mirror every other day and talked to him as if they were still spending their days together. He also came to the Malfoy Manor regularly during the second half of the summer. Once, Draco and his mother had been invited to Lord Black’s residence. And everything went great! Draco’s mother came to peace with her older sister and her younger cousin. Potter had been decent. And Draco had met a new cousin and enjoyed the show while Dora and Teddy competed to know who the better metamorphmagus was.

By Draco’s 4th year at Hogwarts, the boy couldn’t see his life without Teddy by his side anymore. Sure, most of his fellow Slytherins had accepted him back in since his 1st year. But knowing what real friendship looked like through his relationship with Teddy put every other one in perspective.

Now, Draco was having the most boring year at Hogwarts. They had started working for their O.W.L.s which was due for the end of the following year, so most of their lessons were reviewing what they did during the first three years of school. He didn’t have Quidditch practise because the House Tournament had been cancelled. And he was still unable to work at the Hospital Wing to support his eventual summer internship application to St Mungo’s because he was too young! What was he supposed to do with his time???

Teddy was busy too… he was working on NEWT level potions with Snape. Those were clearly above Draco’s level and even if he could help with the ingredients, it wasn’t as interesting as really experimenting with the process as Teddy did.

There was something else in Draco’s mind too… Potter.

The Gryffindor Golden Boy seemed to be everywhere nowadays. With his stupid hair and his stupid smug face… teasing Teddy, comparing their fucking dick sizes in the Great Hall!

Draco wasn’t blind. He knew he liked the stupid Golden Boy… Physically at least. He wasn’t as perfectly handsome as Teddy was. He was small, cranky and clearly never learnt how to use a hairbrush! But he had this _je-ne-sais-quoi_.His imperfections were what made him attractive. Like his stupid glasses that put far too much emphasis on the emerald green of his eyes…

But Potter was off-limit. Because he was Teddy’s best friend… Teddy’s brother. And if anything went wrong with him, Draco could lose Teddy in the process.

But it was unnerving… Seeing him pretending to dance with that Patil girl… It was also funny to realise that the boy seemed to be looking Draco’s way more often than not too… But he wasn’t sure whether the other boy might feel something for him too, or he just had noticed that Draco was looking at him and thus, was looking back. That later explanation wasn’t funny at all.

One day, Teddy had asked Draco to meet him on the Quidditch Pitch on the early morning and at first, Draco had been worried something might be wrong with his friend. Then Draco had seen that Potter was in the Pitch at this unholy hour too, and he had felt betrayed.

He immediately thought about the worst.

Maybe Potter had noticed his feelings and asked Teddy to set him off to beat the shit out of him. But Potter seemed as surprised as he was to see him there. So maybe he didn’t know… Maybe Teddy noticed Draco’s feelings for Potter and had set them up! But that would be… so much like his best friend… What if Teddy knew something thanks to his seer abilities?

But Draco had worried for nothing. Teddy seemed to have become sick of them both and decided to act on their extensive free time. Frankly speaking, Draco wasn’t even sure that Teddy realised the value of the gift he gave them. Who could say that they had trained under an almost world champion seeker’s very own routine???? At least, Potter seemed to be on the same page as he was on that part. Neither of them would waste on that opportunity.

And that was how Draco ended up spending one hour every morning and three to four hours every weekend with Potter of all people. But it would have been a lie to say he hated it…


	2. First step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The events in this chapter cover Chapters 22/23 of Teddy's.
> 
> (Well, mostly the end of chapter 22, really... and the very beginning of 23 - In other words, the end of their 4th year and the beginning of the Drarry!)

It was the beginning of June. Like every year, Teddy had organized a Quidditch match among their school year to celebrate Draco’s birthday. In addition, Draco also had the privilege to do a seeker game against the one and only Viktor Krum.

Draco felt like his life was at its greatest.

During their morning jogging session, he had noticed how Potter’s gaze would inevitably end up on his ass every time Draco started to sprint to put some distance between them. Draco didn’t mind. Draco even felt great about it.

They were now one week away from the end of the school year. Potter and he had been surprised by the rain during one of their evening practices and ended up completely drenched in the Hufflepuff changing room. Draco had been very conscious of Potter’s eyes on his naked back when he had put his uniform over his head.

“Potter…” he sighed, making the boy jolted. “You’re staring…”

“No, I’m not!” The Gryffindor denied immediately.

Draco turned his head to face him and smirked. “Yes, you are… but I don’t mind…”

Potter’s face turned bright red at that statement.

“I’m not staring…” he repeated while huffing and turning away to change his own wet clothes.

Draco’s eyes lingered over his body. Their special training of the last few months did put some muscles there. There was a long and thin scar on his back and right side. It seemed old; Draco was wondering how Potter got it… Probably doing something gryffindorly stupid.

“Now, you’re staring…” Potter growled.

“Yup. Do you mind?” Draco admitted.

“I…” Potter started talking but abruptly, turning red again. “Fuck off, Malfoy.”

Draco smirked. He would take that as a ‘no’.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, you know?” the Slytherin continued while resuming dressing in dry robes. “Teddy is just a bit taller, but he isn’t that fit.”

“How would you know…”

“Well, I certainly don’t see him naked as often as you do, but he does spend some time at my house every now and then…”

Potter snorted. “Life is just so unfair…” he sighed. “How come him and you have skin as smooth as babies and people like me just have to fight against acne attacks every other morning?!”

Draco laughed at that. “Tell me, Potter, how often do you analyse my skin condition on a daily basis?” he teased.

Potter groaned when he noticed his mistake and Draco laughed again. His hopelessness was so cute…

“Tell me, Potter…” he asked while approaching him slowly. “Do you wish you could touch it… my perfect skin, I mean…”

Potter purposely avoided his gaze. He was clearly uncomfortable but, to be fair, Draco did leave him enough space to run away, if he ever wanted too.

“Do you want to know about my skincare routine?” Draco continued speaking in a really slow space. “Magic can do wonder, you know…”

Potter grunt at that. “I know the spell… it doesn’t stay up for more than a few hours…”

“Well, potions and salves are way more effective than spells…”

“I’m shit at Potion…”

“You’re just not as good as Teddy, but no one is. Doesn’t mean you’re shit…”

“You’re clearly way more advance in that subject that I would ever be…”

“Nothing is shitty about you, Potter…” Draco breathed.

They were now only a few centimetres from each other. Draco was a bit taller than the Gryffindor and he was looking down at his emerald eyes which seemed hypnotized by the Slytherin’s lips.

“We… shouldn’t…” Potter croaked.

“Why?”

“We’re both boys…”

“I haven’t realised you minded… Black and Lupin are both men…”

Potter pinched his lips, but he still hadn’t tried to move away.

“What about Teddy?”

“What about him? They are his guardians too and he didn’t seem to mind…”

“What if we fight and split up and then he has to take a side?”

“Already thinking long term, Potter?” Draco smirked.

But that sentence seemed to break the spell. First, Potter froze, then he frowned and finally pushed Draco away.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I don’t do booty calls!” he snapped.

It was Draco’s turn to freeze and without realising it, he had grabbed Potter’s wrist, preventing him to step further away.

“I don’t want you to be a booty call either!” he said honestly.

Potter frowned.

“You don’t?”

“No… you’re Teddy’s brother. I would never do something like that to you if you don’t want me to!”

“Are you asking me out then?”

“Do you want me to ask you out?”

“I… I don’t know! Why would you ask me out?!!”

“Because I fucking fancy you!!”

“You… what?!!!”

“Oh! Don’t pretend! I know you feel the same! I saw the way you always look at my ass!”

“I… I d…”

But Draco sent him a disbelieving look and Potter didn’t even try to deny it. Silence settled between them.

“Potter… we… why do you want us to break up when we’re not even together yet…” Draco sighed.

“We have nothing in common…”

“We have.”

“Like what?”

“Like… Quidditch, friends… Teddy… liking to look at each other ass…” Potter blushed at that. “Liking to look at each other’s body while undressing…” Draco took one step ahead. “Liking to look at each other’s lips while speaking…”

“Malfoy…”

“Draco…” he corrected him.

“We can’t do that…”

“Yes, we can. Because I really want to kiss you right now… So, tell me, Potter, can I kiss you?”

“It’s Harry, you bloody git,” Potter-Harry breathed before closing the last remaining distance between their lips.

The kiss was… not like whatever Draco had ever experienced. He did try to kiss Pansy a few times and even Blaise once or twice… It had been casual, didn’t mean anything. But having P-Harry against his skin was just… another level? If that even made sense.

His tongue went to brush Harry’s lips on its own, and the Gryffindor let him do, responding even.

And then, as quickly as it started, it ended.

Harry stepped back.

“I… I need to talk to Teddy first…” he muttered.

“What?!!”

“I’m sorry.”

And with that, he was just… gone.

And Harry, who was just that away to go back to Potter in Draco’s mind, didn’t only leave him there! He started avoiding him in the next few days. What was he supposed to think about that?!!! Harry had been the one to take that step by kissing him! He couldn’t just ditch him like that, could he???? And what with the avoidance?! Wasn’t he supposed to be a Gryffindor?! How could that be qualified as bravery????

Apparently, Harry hadn’t even talked to Teddy yet because the Hufflepuff acted as if nothing happened during lunch. And it had already been three days!

Teddy sat with Harry during the Final Task. Draco was sitting a few rows behind them and every time Harry would glance his way – because for as much he was avoiding him, he also tended to do that often – Draco glared back at Teddy’s head, hoping that the stupid Gryffindor would take the hint. And that he did! Or at least, Teddy did for him because clearly, he asked Harry something about Draco. It was kind of cute how obvious the Gryffindor was… he wouldn’t have last two minutes in the snakes' den…

But clearly, Harry hadn’t found his Gryffindor bravery back just yet as he just cuddled his best friend… Draco was fuming. Could it be that the reason Harry was willing to ask Teddy before doing anything with him because the two had feelings for each other?!!! No, it couldn’t be! They were friends! Almost brothers! They…

Teddy wouldn’t do something like that to him, right?!

But Teddy didn’t know… Well, probably. Draco never clearly stated it, but Teddy was a seer, certainly, he would have _seen_ it coming, right?

Just to make sure, Draco marched to his best friend, barely apologizing to the people who had to move to let him pass through.

“Edward?” he called. He couldn’t get bored of the grimace sprouting on his friend’s face when he called him by his proper name. “Can I talk to you?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gay,” Draco announced, trying his best not to smirk at the face Harry was making next to Teddy.

“Okay…” Teddy said, uncertain.

“And just so you know, it wasn’t a ‘ _them_ ’ as in ‘more than one’, but rather as in ‘not a _her_ ’,” he added, hoping his best friend would get the message. Harry certainly got it. “See you later.”

Draco turned away, making his robe swirling like Snape always did, smirking at hearing the astonished reaction of his best friend. Take that Gryffindor bravery!

However, the sudden burst of cheer of the pitch ruined his effect. He looked around and then down at the ground. Diggory was holding the cup in one hand at the entrance of the maze. Draco realized that he had paid no attention to the Third Task at all. But then, the Hufflepuff Golden Boy collapsed, and people started screaming around. The rumour took only a few seconds to spread.

Diggory was dead!

Draco stayed shocked. He barely knew the guy but… but could that even be possible?!! This Triwizard Tournament had been put back in place on the only condition that safety measures were improved and yet, it was the second accident of this kind! The first time, the merpeople of the Black Lake apparently misunderstood their ‘ _treaty_ ’ and didn’t release the remaining hostages as they were supposed to at the end of the time limit… The French girl could have died if Teddy hadn’t saved her. And now, Diggory died?!! What the hell was that?!!

“Teddy! Teddy, do you hear me?! What is it?!!!” Harry’s voice resonated in Draco’s ears and he jolted to see the Gryffindor trying to get a reaction from the crouched form of Teddy.

“What happened?!!” Draco asked after running back to them.

Harry just shook his head. His arms were around Teddy who seemed unresponsive. He was muttering some nonsense.

“… no… he shouldn’t… he shouldn’t have died… I… Why did he die?! It’s not… it shouldn’t have happened…”

Draco pinched his lips. Was Teddy having a vision of some sort?! He had read that that could be one of the manifestations of his gift, something to do with prophecies…

Then Dumbledore’s voice resonated in the pitch, telling them that they would evacuate and that they were to go back to their dorm as calmly as possible. Further information would be given the next morning but for now, all the celebrations were to be cancelled.

Draco looked down at his best friend, wondering if he could walk in that state.

“Why is he reacting like that??” Weasley asked behind them. “Do you know if he has a thing for Diggory or something?”

Draco couldn’t have been as impressive as the deadly glare Harry sent his friend even if he tried.

“Let’s go,” he said to Harry. “I’ll carry him.”

“I’ll help you,” Harry confirmed.

With the two of them, they managed to convince Teddy to get up and to walk along. But as soon as they entered the Castle, the Hufflepuff stopped.

“I… I can’t! I… No,” he said but Draco could see that he was still into chock. His eyes were unfocused and couldn’t see them.

“Teddy, we…” Draco started then turned to Harry. “Do you think we could take him to one of our Common Room?”

Harry’s eyes were large with fear and fixed on his best friend. “I… I don’t know. I don’t want to let him alone… Maybe… maybe we could take him to the Infirmary…”

“I need to go!” Teddy declared suddenly.

“What?!!”

“Move along, to your Common Rooms, all of you!” some prefect ordered behind them, forcing them to move and to lose Teddy in the crowd.

In the end, Draco didn’t manage to find Teddy back before he was forced into Slytherin Common Room. He tried calling him through the two-way mirror, but the Hufflepuff didn’t answer.

“Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?” the mirror called in the middle of the night.

Draco was sitting on his bed and had drawn the silencing curtain around him. He frowned and looked at the object.

“Potter?!” he guessed, and the mirror blurred to let the messy head appeared. There were red curtains behind the Gryffindor and Draco smirked at the collection of pictures which seemed to paper the boy’s bed head.

“Good… I wasn’t sure it would work…” Harry said ignoring his smirking.

“Any news from Teddy?” Draco asked, serious again.

“No… He… He’s in Snape’s office apparently…”

“What is he doing there?! How do you know?”

Harry looked away. “I have my ways… as for why he’s down there… I don’t know but Snape is with him and Teddy likes the man, so I guess he’s okay…”

Draco nodded. “Yes, we can trust Snape. He’s an expert occlumens so he can probably help Teddy with his shock or something…”

Harry didn’t say anything. He still seemed worried and to be honest, so was Draco.

“He’s going to be okay…” the Slytherin tried to reassure him.

“I… I know… it’s just… I’ve never seen him like that. Even back in First Year, when we learnt about his godfather, he was not so…”

“I get what you mean… But seriously, if he’s with Snape right now, he’s probably on the best hands he could find in the Castle!”

Harry looked at him and tried to pretend to be convinced.

“I should go… They’re organizing a watch in our Common Room,” Harry finally said.

“Okay. Thank you for letting me know,” Draco said.

Harry did some dismissive gesture and broke the spell relaying the two mirrors.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think!!!!


	3. Eggshells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference to chapter 23 of Teddy's version

The next morning, the whole school seemed to be hangovering. Dumbledore told them that nothing could have been done to save Diggory and that, as unfortunate that loss was, it should remind them all that life was short and that no one was invincible. 

Draco didn’t think that it was a very sensible thing to say to shocked students who just might have lost a friend, but he had better things to do with his life than arguing with a senile old man. 

Teddy was back and sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Draco was only half listening while the headmaster was explaining that a special psychological support unit had been created in the Hospital Wing for students that might need it. He was watching at his friend from a distance. Clearly, Teddy wasn’t listening to any of what was going on. He had his nose on some old book, reading while everyone was mourning and keeping a minute of silence in the memory of Diggory. And that act of insensitiveness was so unlike him that Draco’s heart ached. 

The Slytherin met Harry’s eyes across the Great Hall. The Gryffindor had noticed their common best friend’s strange behaviour too. And it didn’t stop at breakfast on that first morning either. For the next few days until the end of the term, Teddy would spend all his time in the library. Apparently, he had unlimited access to the Restricted Section and was hunting for any book about alternations in time… 

Teddy’s strange behaviour had only one good side… Harry was no longer avoiding Draco. They started talking together about Teddy every night before going to sleep and Draco felt kind of bad for looking forward to those calls… Of course, he was worried! But he had his hypothesis. He was almost certain that Teddy had a vision of some kind and now he was trying to know if he could do something to avoid it from happening… Which was pretty mad, if anyone was asking. But clearly, Teddy didn’t want his friends’ help, so Draco was perfectly untitled to enjoy those little stolen times talking to his crush, right?

Even during their ride home, Teddy wouldn’t talk or look up from his books. It was unnerving. Even more when Draco could see how worried Harry was by all this…

They had been riding for two hours already when Draco got sick of it. 

“Come on, Edward. Would you, please, close this book and join us for an Exploding Snap tournament?” he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

“Sorry, I don’t want to…” Teddy muttered without even looking up. 

“I know you’ve been shocked by Diggory’s d…” Draco started sighing but Harry elbowed him to prevent him from finishing his sentence. “Anyway. One misinterpretation of a prophecy isn’t enough to react like that… Seers aren’t always right, you know?”

“Shut up, Draco!” Teddy snapped. “I told you I didn’t want to play your stupid game so now piss off, okay?!”

Draco froze under the glare on his best friend’s face. And the worst part was that Teddy didn’t even seem remotely sorry when he just went back to his book a few seconds later. 

Everyone in the compartment stared wide-eyed. Never ever had Teddy talked like that to anyone! – well, except maybe to Ginevra Weasley, but he hated the girl for some reason. Harry’s hand gripped Draco’s knee before the Slytherin could verbally fight back and tell his friend where he could put his attitude.

Harry and Draco had a silent exchange until Granger cast a privacy charm over Teddy who didn’t even seem to notice. 

“It’s probably just his way of mourning…” she said.

“I reckon we should leave him alone for a bit…” Weasley added before starting a new game. 

Draco tried to focus back on the game, but he was boiling inside. How dare Teddy talk to him like that?! After twenty minutes of failed attempts to stay calm, Draco got up. 

“I need some fresh air…” he said and stormed out of the carriage. 

He went to the nearest loo and splashed some water on his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. It was going to be okay. Teddy was still his best friend and he was going through something… That’s why he was so mean… nothing to do with finally realizing that Draco was a selfish prick and wanting to cut ties with him… 

Draco cast a drying charm on himself before getting out. Harry was waiting on the other side of the door. 

“He didn’t mean it,” the Gryffindor said. 

“I know…” Draco sighed. “It’s just… it’s not normal. He doesn’t look like he would take care of himself if we’re not there to tell him when it’s time to go to the Great Hall for lunch or dinner…”

“I’ll look after him, I promise,” Harry said taking Draco’s wrist into his hand. 

And Draco looked at his big perfect emerald eyes. He wanted to kiss him, to lean on his shoulder and let him tell him that everything would be okay. But they weren’t there yet, were they?

Harry must have realized what he had just done because he let Draco’s arm go and looked away uncomfortably. 

“I reckon you haven’t got the opportunity to talk to him yet,” Draco said. 

Harry shook his head. “I’m not sure it’s the right time for that… Obviously, he has other things on his mind.”

“They shouldn’t be more important than you. You’re his best friend. He sees you as a brother!”

“And he’s not in a good place right now. I can’t force that onto him…” Harry said, shaking his head again. 

“Do you really think we need his permission though? It’s our lives, not his…” Draco sighed moving imperceptibly closer to Harry. 

“It’s not like that… He’s my brother, just like you said… I want to talk to him first… And I said it could wait until we’re home anyway.”

“Did you?” Draco said teasingly.

“Yes…” Harry breathed. 

“And do you really think it can wait… now…”

How do they get so close again? Draco barely needed to move his head if he wanted to kiss the guy and, clearly, Harry’s thoughts were on the same line as the two emeralds were fixed on the Slytherin’s lips. 

“You’re so cute together~,” an eerie voice said behind them. 

They both jolted and put some appropriate distance between them. 

“It’s not… we’re not…” Harry stuttered without managing to form a complete sentence. He ended up in a total blushing mess. 

Draco decided to ignore him. 

“Lovegood, you’re a seer, right?” he asked instead. 

“Well… I can certainly see you right now so I might not be blind…” the girl answered dreamily. 

“Yeah… right. Anyway… Did you talk to Teddy? Can you maybe help him with his stuff or something?”

“Oh… Our little wolf is stuck in a storm of wrackspurts right now… There is nothing we can do except waiting for them to go… They are really aggressive wrackspurts you see…”

“What a wrackspurt?” Harry asked. 

And Draco groaned. It’s been three years since Teddy became friend with the girl and he had talked to her occasionally, but she rarely made any sense. Teddy seemed to be the only one to understand her sometimes…

Draco decided to try and put all that in the back of his mind. He was home and he hadn’t seen his mother since last August as he had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter. 

His mother had become quite busy since his father went to Azkaban. She was sitting as Lord Malfoy’s proxy in the Wizengamot until Draco was of age and had started to give special Wizarding Culture lessons to willing muggleborns and muggleraised students of Hogwarts during the summer. 

During his first dinner home, Narcissa told Draco that she had made special arrangements for him and, even though he was still too young to be elected for a full internship at St Mungo's, he would be able to have theoretical lessons with their private healer twice a week during the summer. Draco had been thrilled. 

He had wanted to be a healer since he was a kid, but his father had always been against it. The Malfoy Heir would never lesser himself so much as to do a job of helping people! Merlin forbids, the Malfoy Heir was rich enough not to ever need a job and it was primordial that people knew about it! Draco gave up on his dream when he was around 8. But then, his father went to Azkaban and Teddy, somehow knew what Draco’s childhood dream was as he offered him a large range of books on healing spells for his 12th birthday. Despite his best effort, Draco didn’t manage to keep those books from his mother’s inquisition, but surprisingly, the woman seemed okay with the idea. 

“As long as you do something you like…” she had said. 

And since then, she had been supportive if not realistic regarding his opportunities in this field at this young age. 

Thus, this year, Draco’s summer would be divided between Quidditch training, piano lesson and healing practice! It would be great, and he was eager to tell his best friend, so he called him on the two-way mirror that night. But Teddy didn’t answer, neither did he answer the next day or the one after that… After a week, Draco just stopped trying. 

“Draco?”

Draco lifted his eyes from the book he was reading and looked at the two-way mirror laying on his nightstand. He took it in his hand and made sure he was presentable before answering. 

“Harry?” he said back. 

The image blurred and the raven-haired boy appeared. He wasn’t sure Harry had tried to make himself presentable before calling…

“Good! I wasn’t sure you would answer!” the Gryffindor smiled shyly. 

“Unlike your stupid best friend, I answer when I’m called… especially when it’s people that I care about who call…”

Harry grimaced and blushed at the same time. 

“He hasn’t talked to you then…” he guessed. 

“Not since the Hogwarts Express, no,” Draco confirmed bitterly. “How are you? Did you talk to Teddy yet?”

“I’m fine and… no…” Harry answered, looking down. 

“How is he doing?” He asked in a detached voice, pretending to be unconcerned. 

“Not good?” Harry answered looking up again. “He’s barely spoken more than two words to me since we came back… He doesn’t eat with us anymore. Kreacher is making him sandwiches and he just eats them in the library or his room while working…”

Draco hated himself for caring. He should be angry at Teddy! Not worried. But… 

“Could you come over?” Harry asked softly. 

“What?” Draco choked. 

“Not tonight, obviously… But sometimes this week? I need…” Harry bit his lips and apparently decided not to finish his sentence. “I don’t know what to do but maybe you’ll have better luck than us?”

“Have you forgotten how it turned out in the train?”

“Well, at least, he gave you a full sentence! It’s better than what we get nowadays…” Harry argued. 

But Draco wasn’t sure he wanted to force that type of encounter on himself. If Teddy wanted to see him, he knew where to find him…

“Please, Draco…” Harry begged. “I… I’m so scared he might get himself sick at this rate. He’s having nightmares you know… Remus said that he hears him crying at night… but he just closes off when we try to talk to him about it… I don’t know what to do…”

Draco’s heart ached. He wasn’t ready to see Harry so desperate. Right now, he only wanted to run to the floo and go there to comfort the Gryffindor. 

“I… I might find some time tomorrow…” he said instead. “But I doubt I will be much help…”

“Thank you, Draco! Thank you so much!”

Draco snorted. He didn’t know how to deal with that kind of emotion. 

“See you tomorrow then… I’ll be there around 2 pm, I think…”

“Okay! I’ll tell Sirius and Remus! Thank you.”

“Yeah… Good night.”

“Good night!” Harry answered joyfully. 

They hung up and Draco almost immediately regretted accepting to go. His reluctance was confirmed the very next day when Teddy just shouted at him to leave him alone.

“Then go outside! Go play quidditch with Harry or something but leave me the fuck alone, okay?!!!!!”

Draco stayed in shock for a few seconds before storming out of the Black Library. Harry managed to stop him just before he threw the floopowder down the fireplace. 

“Draco! Wait!” Harry yelled while grabbing his wrist and forcing him to turn back. 

“Why?!! Why did you want me to go there?!!! Did you just want to prove that he does hate me now?!! Was that your idea of a joke?!!!!”

“What?!! No! Draco, I swear, I didn’t…”

But Draco wasn’t listening. The tears were burning his eyes and Draco never cried! It wasn’t up to the Malfoy Heir standard at all!

“Draco? Draco, I’m sorry… I didn’t know that he would…”

Draco looked down. He was shaking uncontrollably. He just wanted to go home before Harry realized how weak he was for crying over something like that. But Harry wouldn’t let go of his wrist and before he knew it, he found himself in a tight hug. Teddy had been the only one to ever give him this kind of embrace until now… And Draco just couldn’t resist. He rested his head against Harry’s shoulder and let the tears run freely. 

“I’m sorry…” Harry kept muttering against his ear. “I’m really sorry…”

Harry’s hand moved and started stroking slightly the back of his head, brushing the base of his neck under the collar of his shirt. And suddenly, that embrace was nothing like anything he might have shared with Teddy. 

Harry smelt like broom polish and something sweet. Draco had stopped crying but didn’t want to let go. He had never noticed that Harry had that small scar behind his right ear. His nose stroke Harry’s neck slightly, his lips brushing his skin and the other boy tightened his grip around Draco’s waist. It felt so bloody right…

Until someone cleared his throat and their bubble exploded. 

Harry jolted a few meters away and Draco felt colder than he ever did in his entire life. He was ready to glare at the intruder but falter slightly when he noticed that it was none other than Lord Black himself, with a smug face on while leaning with cross arms against the open door. 

“I… I think I need to go… my mother is waiting for me…” Draco muttered the lie and disappeared in the floo before having to deal with any of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcomed as always! Please tell me what you think???


	4. Correspondence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter happened during chapter 23 of Teddy (and ends at the exact same point)!
> 
> Enjoy~

Harry did call him that night through the two-way mirror anyway. 

“They know…” the Gryffindor announced matter-of-factly. 

“Teddy too?” Draco inquired hopefully. 

“No.”

Draco rolled his eyes. 

“Sirius thinks that I’m being stupid…” Harry continued. 

“For going out with a Slytherin?”

“No, for waiting for Teddy’s blessings…” Harry sighed. “Apparently, Remus had pulled a similar plot when they started going out back in their 6th year… He wanted to talk with my father and Pettigrew before they took it anywhere…”

“And how did Black react?”

“Well, apparently, my dad had known for years as Sirius always went to him after having a wet dream about Remus…” Harry smirked. 

“Are you implying that you’re having wet dreams about me?” Draco teased. It was so easy, and he didn’t regret it when the Gryffindor’s face turned bright red. 

“No!” Harry almost yelled. “I… no. I don’t!”

“Too bad I heard a confession just now…”

“You’re insufferable!” Harry pouted. “Anyway, Remus said that my dad had always been supportive of them and that, when they told him, he was just happy to know that they would just never do it on _his_ bed…”

Harry was smiling mischievously at this point and Draco couldn’t stop himself from smirking too. 

“Does that mean you give up on talking to Teddy?”

“No.” Harry over-articulated the simple word and Draco sighed. “They said they won’t stand it quietly anymore, you know… They won’t do anything drastic, of course, but Remus said it’s important that Teddy realises that he isn’t alone… Sirius’s therapist thinks the same apparently. She said that Diggory’s death might have triggered something in him… you know how he never talked about his godfather’s death, right?”

“Yes… It’s barely if he reckons the man is dead sometimes…” Draco sighed. “Do they think that he might have died in a similar fashion as Diggory?”

Harry shrugged. “How common death by acromantula bites at the end of a centuries-old tournament is?” he asked evenly. 

A silence. 

And then they both started laughing. It was awfully wrong, but it also felt so good. 

“What would you say about coming over tomorrow to play some Quidditch?” Draco found the courage to ask eventually. 

“I… I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m serious about wanting to tell Teddy first, you know? Anyway, I think Sirius and Remus are planning something for me tomorrow… they talked about necessary education if I want to engage in a…” Harry stopped abruptly and blushed. 

“What?”

“Nothing!”

“Come on! Don’t make me call Black to know!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wanna bet?”

“…”

“Scare, Potter?”

“Oh! Fuck off! If I want to engage in a sexually active gay relationship, okay?!!!”

“They want to give you _The Talk_?!” Draco exclaimed. 

“Shut up! I don’t even know how I managed to survive the evening already. When Remus came back home, he asked if we had switched clothes because he could smell your odour all over me! Sirius, literally, rolled on the floor laughing!”

Draco smirked. “Sorry, I forgot you lived with odour fetishists…”

“They’re my family and I love them anyway…” Harry said but he turned a little more serious a few seconds later. “Did you tell your mother yet?”

“I thought we weren’t in a relationship until you talk to Teddy?” Draco acted surprised. 

“You know what I mean!” Harry scoffed. “You might want to tell her though… before Sirius goes to her to brag or something…”

Draco grimaced at the idea. “You’re right, I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you nervous or anything?”

“What for?”

Harry looked at him dubiously. Draco wasn’t worried. His mother probably wouldn’t care much about the Malfoy line’s disappearance anyway. 

“I need to go,” he said eventually. 

“Right, wouldn’t do good to endanger your beauty sleep…” Harry nodded slightly pouting. 

“Do you want to keep talking?” Draco asked surprised. 

“No! Good night.”

And the mirror blurred before even waiting for Draco’s answer. 

The talk with his mother went without any incident. She wasn’t even surprised when he told her he was _courting_ Harry. 

“Come on, my Little Dragon, you’ve been in love with the boy before even meeting him!” she teased. 

“It’s… It’s not the same!” Draco answered embarrassed and above all afraid of how easy it would be for his mother to slip that sentence casually in front of Harry or his guardians. He would never hear the end of it if she did. 

A few days later, Harry called again at night to tell him that Teddy had a break down the previous night but that he was doing a bit better now. Apparently, Remus, Sirius and Harry were now taking turns to be sure someone was always there to keep Teddy company while he was researching who knew what. It was a good idea, albeit a bit boring in Harry’s point of view. 

“Come over to play tomorrow…” Draco had asked again. 

“I’ve told you, not until I talk to Teddy…” Harry sighed. 

“Why? We would just play some Quidditch! What are you afraid of? It’s not as if I’m going to jump on you…”

“It’s not _your_ lack of self-control that I’m afraid of!” Harry growled. 

And he had hung off before Draco had time to analyse that sentence. 

Draco smirked himself to sleep that night. 

Harry kept Draco informed on Teddy’s progress on an almost daily basis. Sometimes through owl in the morning but most of the time during their now ritual night talks. It was kindly comforting to talk to Harry like that, lying on the bed, a book waiting open on his laps while they talked and joked and smirked and sometimes blushed. Well, especially Harry. The boy was wearing his every emotion on his sleeves. 

On the 31st of July, Harry didn’t answer his first call but called back at around 1 a.m. The boy had seemed ecstatic as he told Draco about his day in Paris. The whole thing sounded very muggle, but Draco didn’t care because there was something on Harry’s smile which was just preventing him from teasing and instead forced him to smile back. The boy was also clearly tired. 

“Good night Harry… and Happy Birthday again…”

“Thanks! ‘night! Wait for Hedwig tomorrow!”

And indeed, the snowy owl arrived during Draco’s breakfast. She was holding a small package which was, in fact, a pack of pictures of the previous day. Harry’s happy face was everywhere, alongside Black’s funny giant mouse ear headband and Teddy’s pink hair. Teddy seemed so tall in the pictures… Did the boy have another growth sprout while digging himself in his stupid studies?? Puberty was soooo unfair! 

At least, Teddy seemed happy too in the pictures. Still a bit tired and sun-deprived, of course, but better… 

And then, a few days later, Draco received his letter from Hogwarts. His mother was watching him carefully, pretending to be sipping in her cup of tea, while he opened it. He knew what she was waiting for. 5th year… Prefect nominations… 

He smirked slightly while eyeing the content of the unusually heavy envelope. 

“It’s rude to keep an old woman waiting…” Narcissa said evenly when she understood that he was very purposefully taking his time. 

“You’re not old…” Draco smiled at her. “Here the book list of the year… and of course the reminder about the rules, and oh! My Hogsmeade visits permission form if you’re kind enough to sign it…”

“I’m not so sure I will, at this rate…” the woman answered in the exact same tone as he just used. 

Draco just smiled pleasantly. “And last but not least… may I present you Slytherin Prefect Badge?” he finished, finally revealing the shiny green and silver badge. 

His mother sighed dramatically and then opened her arm largely. “Come here. An old woman has the right to hug her son when she is so very proud of him…”

Draco complied. He hadn’t hugged his mother in a few years. He wasn’t a child anymore but today felt different. He was proud too. 

“I’m sure you will do a wonderful prefect, my dragon. And maybe even a gorgeous Head Boy in two years…”

Draco chuckled. “No way. Teddy will definitely be Head Boy. I have my eyes on the Slytherin Quidditch Captain position though…”

Narcissa let him go and looked at him straight in the eyes. “So, mote it be. My son will be the Best Quidditch Captain Hogwarts has ever seen!”

Draco smiled and then his mind went wondering who the other prefects would be. Teddy had told him, as one of his stupid predictions, that Weasley would be Gryffindor’s… which didn’t make any sense if anyone was asking. Of course, he came to tolerate the redhaired because he was friend with Teddy and Teddy didn’t always have time to see all his friends separately… but still… Weasley’s and Granger’s constant bickering was insufferable and Draco really didn’t want to spend every Prefect meeting listening to it for 3 years…

Harry’s snowy owl choose that moment to come flying into the living room, perching herself on Draco’s chair. 

“Hey, you,” Draco smiled at her while taking the letter she was holding. 

She hooted back and headed his hand for petting, which Draco indulged in while reading the letter.

‘ _Hello!_

_I hope this letter gets you before your Piano Lesson, I asked Hedwig to hurry, could you give a treat for me if she managed it, please?_

_Anyway, how are you? Did you receive your Hogwarts letter too? Guess What???? I’m Gryffindor’s new Prefect!!! I really didn’t expect it! Sirius cast a bunch of checking spells on my badge because he didn’t believe it either and thought it might be some kind of joke… But it’s not! I’m a prefect! Can you imagine that?????_

_We think Teddy might be too. We weighted his letter and it’s as heavy as mine… but maybe 5th-year letters are all charmed to be heavy so that nobody knows for sure before opening it. Alas… He’s still studying in the library as I’m writing this letter and haven’t come down to open his letter yet… so we just wait, I guess…_

_What about you? Any good news to share? I’m sure you do; with all the time you spend doing extra-credit for Potions with Teddy along the years…_

_I hope to see you soon. Promise, I’ll try to talk to Teddy before the end of the Holidays!_

_Love you._

_Harry_ ’

Draco smiled tenderly as he read the letter again. The boy clearly was excited. 

“So? What is it?” Narcissa asked evenly, back at pretending to sip in her teacup. 

“Harry’s the Gryffindor Prefect,” Draco explained while cutting his sausage in small pieces before giving them to Hedwig. “He thinks that Teddy might be Hufflepuff’s, but he hasn’t opened his letter yet… Do you know if they charm the 5th years’ letters to be heavier even if you haven’t been nominated to be Prefect?”

“Hum… not that I know of… But how would I know? I was a Prefect too, and so were my sisters and Regulus, my baby cousin.”

“Oh, so Nymphadora was the one to break the family tradition?” Draco joked. 

“No, Sirius was and will always be the white sheep in the family,” Narcissa smiled. “Oh, his parents had been so enraged that day. Not only was he a Gryffindor but he didn’t even have the decency to be chosen as their Prefect! Such a shame…” She chuckled. “Thankfully, Sirius had had the wonderful idea to be at the Potters’ that day, otherwise…” She shook her head. “Anyway, I would still have been proud of you even if you weren’t Prefect, I hope you know that?”

Draco nodded at her with a smile. 

“Good.”

Draco kept smiling and read the letter for the third time. Harry was Gryffindor Prefect, not Weasley… Which meant that Teddy’s prediction had been wrong!

“Mother? Do you happen to have any howler that I could use?”


	5. Request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teddy: this scene happened between chapter 24 and 25

“Draco? Do you mind if I stay… a bit?”

Teddy and Draco stopped the discussion they were having about the effect of Salamander Blood in healing salves to look at Harry. The three boys had just spent the day together shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley and then had retreated to Malfoy Manor because Lord Black was still working on Grimmauld Place’s wards or something. Teddy and Harry were supposed to go back home by dinner time though… 

Draco eyed Teddy, to see how his friend was reacting. It was the first time the three of them had really spend time together since Teddy learnt about Harry’s and Draco’s building relationship. 

On that day, Teddy had barged in the manor in the late morning. They had talked and Draco had decided that he couldn’t stay mad at his friend who was clearly suffering from the situation too. He didn’t know what Teddy was going through, he couldn’t understand, but he would try to be there. 

Anyway, Harry had barged in too less than 30 minutes later and Dobby had embarrassed Draco in a way only his mother could have equalled… 

Teddy and Harry had then realised that they had only three weeks left to finish all their summer assignments and that they hadn’t even started yet. Draco agreed with them when they said they were doomed. It wasn’t his case in any way as his summer assignments were all almost done. 

Teddy and Harry had been pretty busy ever since. However, Harry kept on calling Draco through the two-way mirror almost every day.

“Sure… I won’t complain about that…” Draco answered without moving his eyes from Teddy. 

“Oh, don’t worry about me… I just need to get used to it but I’m alright…” the other boy said sheepishly. 

Teddy was doing so much better. It seemed that he had completely given up on his research mission. Which was good… Draco thought.

“Should I get going now? Or…”

“No!” Harry exclaimed. “I… I didn’t say that to get rid of you Ted’! I just…”

“I get it…” Teddy sighed. “You two are going out and I don’t want to be around when things will get naughty!” 

Draco smirked at the way Teddy was messing with Harry. The Gryffindor’s reaction didn’t wait. 

“We won’t do anything naughty! I just want to talk!”

“Oh…” Draco said overdoing his disappointment. “Just as I was expecting to see how bad your self-control really was…”

Harry turned red, as he always did. 

“Okay, now you’re dirty talking, I’m leaving!” Teddy exclaimed. 

“Bye~” Draco beamed, and Teddy waved him goodbye as he was leaving the room. 

“Teddy! Wait! It’s not what I meant!” Harry tried to stop him, but Draco grabbed his wrist before he could run after his brother. 

Harry sat back on the couch next to him. He seemed concerned by their sudden proximity. 

“He knows,” Draco told him. “He was just messing with you…”

“Well, it’s not funny! And you’re not nice either! I’m telling it right now if you’re using our relationship to tease Teddy constantly I will…”

“Oh… so we are in a relationship now?” Draco interrupted him. 

Harry froze and stared at him. 

“What do you mean? Of course, we are! You asked me out!”

“And you never answered…”

“I…” Harry started but stopped when he realised that what Draco was saying was the truth. Of course, they talked every day, but they never clearly labelled what they were. “I started going out with you when you kissed me in those changing rooms…”

“I kissed you? In my memories, it was the other way around…”

“Draco…” Harry warned.

“It’s been so long, I don’t remember right, maybe…”

“Are you implying you would like a reminder?”

“Oh… so Gryffindors could get the subtext when they really want to…”

“You’re a git!” Harry pouted and turned his head the other way. 

Draco hesitated for a second. Did he go too far? But Harry’s wrist was still in his hand and the boy hadn’t moved the slightest away from him. 

He brushed Harry’s skin with his thumb and goosebumps appeared immediately. 

“Harry?” Draco leaned against the other boy’s ear. “Can I kiss you again?”

Harry shrugged without turning his head. Oh… so now he was pretending to be pouting for real? 

Draco leaned a little more and put his lips on his neck, sending shivers in Harry’s body. Draco let go of his wrist and wrapped his hands around the boy’s body without breaking the contact between his lips and Harry’s skin. 

Harry relaxed a bit and started leaning more against Draco’s body. 

“Harry? Can I kiss you?” Draco asked again. 

This time, Harry turned his head and let him access his lips. It was soft and calm. Harry put an end to it by pushing a hand against Draco’s chest. 

Harry had a slight frown on his face. 

“What is it? Was it bad? Are you uncomfortable?” Draco inquired. 

Harry shook his head slowly. “It’s not that… It’s just… Could you please back down with the teasing? I… I’ve never been in a relationship before so, I’m sorry if I’m naïve or… or I don’t know what to do but… you acting like that is not helping, okay?”

Draco nodded. He knew that Harry had some insecurities, but he didn’t expect him to voice them aloud like that… 

“I’m sorry Harry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I know…” Harry sighed. “Believe it or not but I’m starting to know you a little, Draco Malfoy. And I don’t mind a little teasing but…” He stopped and sighed. “I’m sorry… you must be thinking that I’m a bother and you probably regret asking me out in the first place…”

“No,” Draco stated clearly as Harry lowered his eyes out of shame. “I don’t regret anything. I… I’m sorry. I’ll try and back down on the sarcasm, ok? But if I don’t get the signs quick enough, could just tell me? I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. Believe it or not, I’ve not been in many relationships either and I want this to work.”

“Really?” Harry raised expectant eyes. 

“Really…”

And they went back at snogging. It was better but that discussion had triggered a weird feeling in Draco’s stomach. Why was he feeling so vulnerable right now? Harry’s hand was on his hair, and he usually hated it when people touched his hair… But now, it felt good. He let go of Harry’s mouth and move back to his neck, seeking the feeling he had felt a few weeks ago in Grimmauld Place. Harry kissed his ear and brushed his abdomen through his shirt. His hand ended up on Draco’s tight and the Slytherin exhaled deeply. Harry’s other hand levelled his chin, and they were back at exploring each other mouths. 

After long minutes of snogging, Harry pushed him gently again. They were both short of breath. 

“That was…” Harry started.

“Perfect…” Draco finished. 

And Harry smiled sheepishly forcing Draco to chastely kiss the corner of his lips one last time. 

“I reckon that was good enough to make us official,” Harry declared.

And Draco smiled without commenting. However, he could tell there was something else in the Gryffindor’s mind. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Just… I thought about it… during the summer, I mean…”

“Well, we sure had had time to think,” Draco started but bit down his tongue at Harry’s sharp glare. 

“Would you mind if… if we keep it quiet at school?”

Draco froze and something sour immediately grew in his throat. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… I’m not certain everyone will be thrilled about us being together… And I know, Remus told me, the wizarding folks are not as bigotry as the muggles regarding same-sex couples but… I don’t know… there still is plenty of muggleborn and muggleraised students out there and I don’t want to push it… Plus, I’m the _Boy-Who-Lived_ and you… You’re…”

“The son of a Death Eater,” Draco spat bitterly. 

Harry grimaced at that but still nodded. “Remember how people reacted when you started hanging out with Teddy who was also known to be my friend, back in first year… People just assumed that you befriended Teddy just to build your way up to me and eventually cut my throat in my sleep… I… I don’t want that to happen again…”

“So… you want us to… what? Stay hidden? Keep it a secret from everyone?”

“Not everyone! You can talk to your friends, obviously. I mean, Teddy knows but… I don’t want everyone to know… I… please?”

Draco stayed quiet. Harry was ashamed of him. That’s what it was. He should have known it… He was indeed the son of a Death Eater… No matter what his mother did to save their image, he will always be a pariah in their society. 

“Draco?”

Harry brushed his cheek, worried. 

“If this is what you want…” Draco sighed looking away. “I won’t go near you during the school year…”

“What?! No! That’s not what I want!” Harry exclaimed. “I… We can still be friends and hang out together! Just… I don’t want to show public displays of affection while we’re… not around friends? I mean… I… It would make me uncomfortable anyway and… we can still find time to be just the two of us.”

Draco looked at him doubtfully. “You want us to pretend to be friends?”

“We were already friends… I mean, people are used to seeing us together when Teddy is here. Maybe we can get them used to see us together even when Teddy isn’t around? It’s not as if you were planning to shag me during Snape class, wasn’t it?”

Draco smirked. “Oh, is that one of your wet dreams?” he teased. 

And just like that, the tension between them disappeared and Harry’s face was back to that lovely tomato red. 

“N-no, it’s not!”

“Really?” Draco gave him a wolfish smile and Harry blushed a little more before kissing him to make him shut his mouth. 

They resumed their snogging easily. Draco put that feeling of rejection in the back of his head. It was okay. Harry had every right to be ashamed of him. He had been no one since his father went to Azkaban anyway. 

His fingers were just finding their way under Harry’s shirt when a small pop resonated in the room. 

“Mistress is asking if Master Harry Potter will stay for dinner,” Dobby announced loudly making Harry jolted out of Draco’s arms. 

“Dobby!” Draco groaned. 

“Mistress is also telling Dobby to tell Young Master Draco to refrain from doing anything indecent in the shared rooms of the Manor when Mistress is in the Manor too.” The Elf continued with a joyful smile. 

“Fine, we’ll move to my room then…” Draco sighed. 

“Master Lord Black also asks Dobby to inform Master Harry Potter that he is to behave if he goes to Young Master Draco’s room.”

“What?! Sirius is here too???” Harry exclaimed. 

“Master Lord Black had come to see why Master Harry Potter is not going home yet,” Dobby nodded. 

Draco groaned even louder. 

“I… I think I should go home…” Harry muttered apologetically. 

“I think our parents had made an unbreakable vow to make our lives miserable…” Draco sighed, and Harry chuckled before kissing him lightly on the lips. 

“See you on Friday at Kings Cross?” he asked softly. 

Draco nodded but grabbed Harry’s wrist before he could step away. “I’ll need another kiss now as I won’t be allowed to do it when I see you on Friday…”

Harry smiled sheepishly but complied, giving him a deeper kiss this time. 

“I’ll call you on the mirror tonight…” he whispered before leaving.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double-sorry!   
> First, I couldn't find time to post this earlier this week because life just wouldn't let me... then, it's short... sorry. 
> 
> Anyway, what do you think?


	6. Boundaries

On the 1st of September, Draco arrived early at the station as his mother needed to be somewhere else at 11 but still wanted to go with him. It was ridiculous as he was 15 now, but who was he to deny his mother? 

At 10:30, he met with Hermione Granger. The girl was okay, he guessed. He didn’t know if he could consider her a friend. She was more Teddy’s friend and a good study partner but otherwise… he guessed he tolerated her. But now, it was a bit different because Granger was one of Harry’s best friends and he definitely didn’t know for sure what he told her about them. 

“Hello, Draco!”

“Well met, Granger.”

“How was your summer?”

“Okay, I guess. What about you?”

“Excellent! Teddy and Harry told me you’re the new Slytherin prefect?”

“I am. Congratulations on your own nomination.”

“Thank you! I am so excited! Do you know what our position really entails? I tried to find some more information on Hogwarts History – Prefect edition, but I think the book is incomplete.”

“Well, my mother had been a prefect when she was at Hogwarts. She told me that rules tend to be adjusted every year but that everything will be explained during our meeting in the Hogwarts Express. And then, during the meeting with Professor McGonagall during the first Sunday of the school year.”

Granger then asked him a few questions about the prefect position in the different houses, which was a good distraction to avoid bringing Harry in the discussion. 

With time, the platform started to be more and more crowded. Draco overheard some girl talking about Teddy. He didn’t even know the girl who didn’t seem to be in their year… which was strange. 

Granger and he didn’t have any trouble finding the Potter-Wolfe-Black-Lupin household. They were with the Weasleys and if that wasn’t noticeable enough, Teddy was wearing bright turquoise hair. 

“What happened?!” Draco asked as a greeting while looking at Teddy’s head. 

Black seemed really proud of his wards… unlike Lupin who was sending disapproving looks not only to the two teenagers but also to his partner. 

Granger seemed focused on Teddy’s new pierced ears and, clearly, Draco didn’t want to take part in that debate. He shivered when Harry’s finger brushed against his hand. Draco raised an eyebrow but couldn’t stop looking at his best friend. This was so… flamboyant! 

“Falling in love, Draco?” Teddy smirked after some time. He seemed perfectly aware of what his new look was inducing in people around him. 

“Shut up, you tosser. Are you planning to stay like that for the whole year?”

“Why yes! Harry said that I was gorgeous with that hair after all!”

“Harry said what?” Draco repeated glaring at his boyfriend.

“Don’t worry, Draco,” Harry sighed. “Teddy made it very clear that he wouldn’t pursue the Black tradition of incestuous relationships…”

Black barked a laugh at that. “Rem’… I think they’re still drunk. We surely can’t let them go like that! Can’t I just give them some sober-up potion?”

“No,” Lupin said. “They’ll learn the consequences of their actions and suffer their hangover until the Sorting Feast tonight. Period. Now, off you go before I decide I’m being too soft on you!”

Harry simply smirked and hugged his two guardians goodbye before brushing Draco’s hand once more. 

“Let’s go,” he mouthed as Teddy stayed behind to talk to Lupin. 

“So, I reckon you and Teddy had quite a party last night?” Draco asked casually as they were walking to the train. 

“Well… we would have invited you, but it wasn’t really a planned thing and Remus specifically said ‘no boyfriend’…” 

“Is that so? Are you hungover right now?” Draco smirked. 

“A bit?” Harry admitted. “I think I will take a nap in the train…” His hand kept on brushing against Draco’s as if he was hesitating to take it. 

“Oh? Should I offer you my shoulder?” Draco said, turning his hand slightly so Harry’s fingers would cross his. 

The Gryffindor missed a step. He could have released his hand but didn’t do anything. He only smiled sheepishly, and Draco had to fight the urge to kiss him. 

“Hello, Draco! What are you doing with Potter? Where’s Wolfe?” Pansy’s voice asked suddenly, and Draco immediately let go of Harry’s hand. 

“Hello to you too, Pansy,” he said as naturally as possible. She was coming their way, Theo following her calmly. “Edward is with his guardians; he will be over shortly. How was your summer?”

And with that simple question, he knew the girl would speak for at least fifteen minutes without interruption, so he just had to follow her into an empty compartment. He tried not to think about Harry or the way he seemed to be burning holes in the back of his head. He wanted to be discrete after all and Pansy was Hogwarts’ queen of gossips. 

“Is something wrong?” Theo whispered into Draco’s hear as Pansy was beginning the story of the third week of July. He had always been good at noticing when Draco was feeling uncomfortable. 

Draco shrugged. He wanted to tell him, but he couldn’t betray Harry’s only wish. Teddy chose that moment to join them in their compartment and the train started moving. 

“What with the new look, Wolfe?!” Pansy exclaimed. “Is there a message you want to send?”

Teddy smirked devilishly. “Well, I guess the message is: ‘I’m available’, Miss Parkinson”. He bowed at her and kissed her hand in a very gentleman manner. 

Draco and Harry rolled their eyes while Theo just scoffed. Pansy seemed ecstatic.

“Let’s go see Daphne! I want to see her face when she sees you!” she said grabbing Teddy’s arm and driving him away. 

Theo followed them and Draco was about to do the same, but Harry kept him behind by pulling his sleeve. Draco sent his a quizzingly look, but the raven-haired boy waited for the compartment door to close before speaking. 

“You can tell them, you know?” he said softly.

“I thought you said you didn’t want anyone to know?”

Harry grimaced. “I don’t want _everyone_ to know… They’re your friends.”

Draco looked at him carefully. Wasn’t he aware of who Pansy was?

“Did you tell Granger and Weasley?” he asked. 

“I told Hermione when she came over last week but I’m not sure she heard me…” Harry admitted sulking a little. “As for Ron… I’ll tell him tonight. He might need a bit of time…”

“I see…” Draco sighed. “I might tell Theo but Pansy… I’m not sure she can keep a secret.” He admitted. 

Draco looked down at the way Harry’s hand was still holding his sleeve. Was that kind of proximity okay when someone could barge in at any moment? Would they ever be certain that no one was looking at them when they’d be at Hogwarts? Was holding hands okay or too much in the end?

Draco was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice that Harry’s face had come closer until soft lips leant against the corner of his mouth. 

“It’s okay…” Harry said as if he had read his thoughts – which was a bit strange because Draco’s emotion usually wasn’t that obvious with his Slytherin mask on. “Everyone will be so focused on Teddy’s new look that no one will probably notice us anyway.” Harry continued putting a new light kiss on his lips. “Sorry for making you uncomfortable around your friends…”

Draco smirked as he grabbed Harry’s face. “If you think this will be enough for me to forgive you, you’re fooling yourself, Potter…” he whispered before kissing him back properly. 

There was a knock on the door and Harry immediately jolted away from him. 

Teddy’s head appeared at the door. “Hey guys, just to tell you that the prefect meeting is about to begin…” he informed them before leaving again. 

Draco’s talk with his best friends went unsurprisingly well. Theo didn’t care and Pansy was more upset that he didn’t tell her earlier than anything else… Well, she did have an issue with Harry being Harry Gryffindor Saviour of the Wizarding World Potter but nothing Draco couldn’t tame down with a little bribery – thankfully, Draco’s mother had that acromantula silk scarf she wasn’t wearing anymore and _that would do wonder with Pansy’s complexion, don’t you think Draco?_. 

Keeping it quiet from the rest of his House seemed a little bit harder…

During the first breakfast of the term, Granger and Weasley came to see him which drew a bit too much unwanted attention since, for once, Teddy wasn’t with him – he learnt later that it was very much intentional on the Hufflepuff’s part. After their uninspired menaces which included lines such as ‘ _if you hurt our best friend we will make you regret it badly_ ,’ the two Gryffindors went back to their table and Draco was left alone to answer the solicitations of his dorm mates. 

He had to make some bullshit excuses about growing closer to Harry Gryffindor Potter during their common Quidditch practices the previous year and deciding to continue to train together on top of their respective House Team Training and that Gryffindors clearly couldn’t father the idea of there were decent people without second thoughts outside their House…

“… oh, but you definitely have second thoughts, haven’t you Draco?” Pansy mocked. 

“Pansy? Is that lipstick on your teeth?” Theo asked casually. 

And the menace disappeared as quickly as it came since Pansy suddenly needed to go to the bathroom to find a mirror. 

In the end, people seemed to accept his ‘ _friendship_ ’ with Harry pretty easily. Harry was right when he said Teddy would be the hot topic anyway. It seemed that the Wolfe had switched to predatory mode this year and it was funny to watch. 

Harry and Draco decided that they could meet around their respective Quidditch team training session. They had got used to getting up early to run the previous year, so they kept that upon three mornings a week. They didn’t have that many classes together as Draco hadn’t taken Divination and Harry wasn’t in Ancient Runes nor Arithmancy… but they still had Potion and Care of Magical Creatures together.

Potion was already one of Draco’s favourite subject, but he now had a new reason to enjoy this class. And for the record, Harry started it first by leaning on him while adding Sneezewort to their Befuddlement Draught. Draco had only been innocently clockwise stirring their potion. So, it’s not really his fault if later he _had to_ teach Harry how to properly cut the Scurry grass… And he certainly didn’t force Harry to put his head on his shoulder just so he could read his notes on when to add the Lovage… And the way his hand slipped on Harry’s tight had been totally accidental! If he had noticed the way Harry shuddered, he certainly would have stopped but Draco was a diligent student so, of course, he was focusing on their potion! 

“I think I need to re-read your notes again later…” Harry had muttered as they were packing up. 

“Is that so?” Draco asked innocently. 

“Do you mind going over it with me?”

“When?”

“Are you free for lunch?”

“Like, right now?”

Harry nodded without looking at him. He was writing down Snape’s instructions for their next essay. Draco smirked and Harry sent him a side look. 

“So?”

“Let me just tell my friends so they don’t worry, okay?” Draco said. 

“Meet me in front of the portrait of the gigantic silver fruit bowl, on the left-hand side of the Marble Staircase in ten then…” Harry said before grabbing his bag and joining Weasley and Granger, certainly to tell them that he wouldn’t eat with them. 

Draco couldn’t stop smirking. It was only the first week of classes and they were already planning a secret date in the kitchen at lunch… Harry clearly had a different meaning of discrete than what he had expected… At this rate, they would definitely get caught… But he wouldn’t complain, it was Harry’s idea after all. Gryffindor boldness had its perks sometimes…  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay. I hadn't been working much on this fic those past few weeks so I didn't feel like uploading a new chapter... I'm sorry!  
> Anyway, I've just finished writing chapter 14 so here is my reward - chapter 6 for you!!   
> Please, tell me what you think!!!! Coms keep me motivating! ^^


	7. Quidditch bet

When Harry told Draco to meet him in the Quidditch Pitch after Gryffindor team’s training session, he clearly hadn’t expected his boyfriend to make an entrance at the end of his captain’s wand. 

“Guys,” Angelina Johnson said as she entered the boys’ changing room. “I caught this Slytherin spying on us. It’s getting worse every year…” She sighed. “What do you suggest we do to him?”

Draco shared a look with Harry who seemed like he was about to panic.

“He… he wasn’t spying!” the Gryffindor seeker exclaimed before anyone could suggest a humiliating punishment. “I asked him to come!”

“Why?!”

“Well… you see… we trained together last year and… well, we thought we could keep it up this year. And, no offence Angelina, your training is great, but I’m a Seeker, I’ll do better if I train with competition…”

Harry was clearly uncomfortable with the eyes of his whole team on him. 

“Why didn’t you say so, Malfoy?” the Quidditch captain finally sighed. 

Draco shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what he told you…”

“Were you planning to hide it?” One of the Weasley twins smirked. 

“It’s not good…” the second one followed in the same tone. Draco really didn’t know how Teddy could tell them apart.

“…keeping this kind of dirty secrets…”

“…from your teammates…”

Harry’s face turned bright red and even if Draco was pretty sure the others didn’t know about the true nature of their relationship, Harry was doomed to spit everything if he let him like that. 

“We weren’t sure about how our respective Captains would take it; you see?” Draco said in a smooth voice. “We didn’t want House rivalry to go in between our Quidditch performance…”

The team’s eyes were on him now, but he didn’t care. 

“Well, if it’s what you need to overcome your best Harry, I won’t oppose it…” Johnson said after a long time. “Please, tell Flint too. I don’t want him to curse my seeker if he caught him in a similar situation… And next time, come after we finish. You can train with Harry, but I won’t let you snitch our chasers’ tactics to your House…”

“It’s noted,” Draco nodded. “I’m going to change in the Slytherin changing room. See you on the pitch in 5, Harry.”

He left. Harry could deal with his teammates on his own. He did go to his own changing room and pondered to really change or not… After all, he could use a good flight before snogging his boyfriend! 

When he went back to the pitch, Harry sent him a disbelieving look.

“I knew you weren’t kidding…”

“Why? Tired already, Potter?” Draco smirked. 

“You wish…” Harry smirked back before mounting his broom. “Last to the Whomping Willow loses!” he announced suddenly. 

“What?! Wait!” Draco yelled after him. But Harry was already long gone and there was no way Draco loses that bet! 

They kept on flying around for almost an entire hour until they finally retreated to Gryffindor changing room. They were both panting but couldn’t get rid of the smile on their face. Harry’s hair was even worse than usual and Draco grimaced when he noticed how pink his own cheeks were. They looked ridiculous…

Draco didn’t have much time to smarten himself on the mirror though as Harry was pulling his arm to catch into a long kiss. 

“I missed that…” Draco mumbled against his lips before kissing him again. 

“We’ve seen each other on Wednesday…” Harry laughed softly. 

“That was two days ago…” Draco growled. 

Harry chuckled but still pressed himself against Draco’s body. That would become their new routine. Lunch after Potion classes because they couldn’t bare be next to one another for two hours without touching or brushing or teasing… Then one or two hours after their respective Quidditch training. They eventually gave up on going back to running together in the morning. They didn’t have time or energy for that this year. They had Prefect duties after all! But that too could be arranged to spend even more time together. 

It was okay. They could make this work… Draco thought. Most of his doubts about Harry’s willingness to keep their relationship hidden were long gone. 

That night, he sat down with his friends in the Slytherin Common room. He was just back from his Prefect round; he had switched place with Pansy so he could be with Teddy for a change. The boy had been going out with a Ravenclaw girl, but Draco doubted it would last. 

“Draco, is something going on between you and Potter?” Blaise asked as it was Theo’s turn to play in their Exploding Snap game. 

Draco raised an eyebrow to his friend. He was the only one of their group not to know. Draco wasn’t that close to him after all and Blaise usually didn’t care much about anything except himself. 

“What makes you think that?” he asked innocently as if everything was normal. 

“I saw how you two act during Potions… I mean, if you’re not going out yet it will probably happen soon…” the dark-skinned boy said. 

“What are you talking about Blaise!” Pansy laughed. “I mean, the Boy-Who-Lived is clearly smitten but Draco is only playing around, aren’t you Drake?”

Something cold settled into Draco’s stomach at that statement. Well, of course, he had asked Pansy to keep it quiet and it was probably just a lie to cover it up. But it still hurt. 

“Draco knows that, once he will be done experimenting, I’ll be waiting for him…” she said, matter-of-factly, putting an overly manicured hand on Draco’s tight. 

Draco shivered. He wasn’t experimenting at all and he really hoped that Pansy wouldn’t use that story to cover up for him because if Harry heard about it…

He sighed, putting Pansy’s hand out of his body, and looked up at Blaise. Even if they weren’t that close, they were still friends and Blaise wasn’t the kind to boast around. 

“We’re going out… since this summer…” he admitted in a low voice so no one else heard. “Harry wants to keep it quiet… Same-sex relationships aren’t that well accepted in the muggle world and… well, he wants to keep a low profile…”

“I see…” Blaise said while playing. “Muggles are stupid,” he added. 

Draco shrugged. “Are we that obvious?”

“No… It’s just that I happen to know what you look like when you feel aroused…” the boy smirked. 

Draco groaned and elbowed him. Of course, he had been the first person to know about his sexual tendencies as the two of them had experimented together… but they agreed to never use that knowledge against one another! 

“What?!!!” Pansy exclaimed. 

“Shut up and play, Pans’…” Theo sighed. 

Draco thanked him silently. He then eyed Blaise, wondering if the boy might be a menace to his relationship with Harry. 

“I know, I won’t tell…” Blaise sighed, understanding his silent thoughts. 

“Good.”

“No, the match is only two weeks away, I don’t want him to slither around anymore!” Johnson ordered firmly. 

Draco had just come down to the pitch. The Gryffindor training session had ended a few minutes before. 

“Ok… I’ll talk to him…” Harry’s voice mumbled. 

Draco waited for the whole team to leave the changing room before entering in. The Weasley twins gave him a strong tap on each shoulder as they passed by and he wondered if they had tried to dislocate them to prevent him from playing in the upcoming match. 

When he entered, Harry was still in his quidditch uniform, his head on his hands, slightly groaning. 

Draco smirked and kneeled before him. Harry hadn’t noticed, of course. Draco let his hands gently stroke Harry’s tights. Harry opened his emerald eyes to his and accepted the unexpected kiss. 

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Draco said back. “What’s wrong?”

Harry didn’t answer and decided to kiss him again instead. 

“We should run away; our love is forbidden…” he mumbled. 

“So, you love me now?” Draco smirked back. 

He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that Harry was now blushing his incredibly cute tomato blush. He kissed him again and sat next to him on the bench. 

“So, your captain doesn’t want us to see each other again?” he asked casually. 

“You heard?”

“Yeah… Flint asked me the same thing, actually…” he sighed. “I had to tell him I’d forfeit if he curses you last week.”

“You would?” Harry asked. 

“Depends on the curse used, I guess…” Draco mused after some time. 

“Hey!” Harry outrageously yelled. 

Draco smirked again. He was so cute. He couldn’t resist him. 

He caught his arm and dragged him to his lap. Harry didn’t fight it but still seemed lost in his thoughts. 

“Don’t think about it… we just have to be more discrete when we see each other, that’s all,” Draco said. 

“Hum… I don’t know… They may have a point…”

Draco frowned. “You want to break up?”

“What?! No!” Harry exclaimed.

“Good! Because I don’t know what Pansy had been spreading but I’m definitely not playing around!”

“Is Pansy being difficult again?” Harry asked worriedly. 

“It’s okay, she’ll accept it… eventually…”

“Hum…”

Harry bent over and kissed him again. 

“On the matter of our respective captains… I think we should back down a bit… at least until the match. I can’t think straight when I’m with you and I don’t want Gryffindor to lose the cup because of me…”

“What?! But that was my plan from the very beginning!” Draco pretended to whine. 

“Shagging me so I lose the match?” Harry inquired. 

“Shagging you until you forget how to ride a broom…” Draco confirmed, and Harry’s lips were on his again. 

They went at it for long minutes until Harry straightened up a bit. He wouldn’t let the matter go then. 

“Seriously, though. Should we step back a bit?” he asked. 

“If that’s what you want…” Draco sighed. He didn’t like the idea. 

“It’s just until the game! And I think we should focus a bit more on our study anyway! You got a P in Potions, yesterday! And you’ve never failed before!”

“Whose fault is that?! Snape was furious!” 

“See?” Harry said. “I don’t want you to fail your O.W.L.s because of me! You need them for your summer internship! Especially in Potions.”

Draco groaned. He had better things to do than studying this year. But Harry was right. He needed an O in Potions, Herbology and Charms if he wanted to enter the internship program in St Mungo’s. Maybe he could ask Teddy for help…

“Fine…” he sighed. “But only until the game!”

“Promise!” Harry smiled. He kissed him softly and straightened up, frowning. “Will you hate me if I beat you again?” 

Draco glared at his boyfriend. Well, of course, he had never won against Harry in a Quidditch Match. The boy was just born in the air and that was pretty unfair already. And the Gryffindor didn’t have to remind him anyway!

“Should I give you an incentive to surpass yourself?” Harry whispered softly in his ear. 

“What do you suggest?”

“A bet. The winner can ask whatever he wants to the loser… The prize is due to the night after our match, in the Prefect Bathroom…” 

Draco stared at the raven-haired boy. They hadn’t been that far yet. Was he really suggesting what he thought he was suggesting? 

“You’re sure?” he asked. 

“Well, it’s not as if you ever win anyway…” Harry smirked. 

Draco growled and pulled him into a hungry kiss. 

“Asshole…” he mumbled against his lips. 

“My prize may include that, yeah…” Harry chuckled teasingly. 

Draco’s thoughts were whirling in his head. That was big. Was he ready? It was two weeks away though… It was going to be a long time…

“I’m going to miss that…” he sighed against Harry’s neck.

“Will you?” Harry asked, sliding his fingers in the platinum blond hair. He was probably the only person in the world allowed to do that… Even his mother lost that privilege long ago.

“Yeah… you should give me a goodbye gift, or I’ll never survive…” Draco growled. 

“A parting gift?” Harry repeated. “I think I could think about a thing or two… but we don’t have much time… I’m patrolling with Teddy tonight…”

He was already bending again to kiss him for the umpteenth time. 

“Fuck Teddy…” Draco sighed against his lips. 

“You don’t mean that,” Harry chuckled. 

He parted his legs a bit more. Draco would have complimented his flexibility if wasn’t suddenly overly conscious of the proximity of their lower parts. Harry secured his head on his arms and kissed him deeper than he ever did. Draco’s hands went to the Gryffindor’s back. Harry shivered when they met his bare skin under his Quidditch uniform. He traced that scar he could feel but had only glimpsed a few times while Harry had been changing the year before. He had never asked him about it… maybe he should… but it wasn’t his business, was it? 

Draco’s other hand was on Harry’s tight and he moaned softly into Draco’s mouth and Draco thought that there was no way they could stop there…

That was until someone rudely and very loudly cleared their throat in the supposedly deserted changing room. 

Harry jolted up and almost fell on the floor if it was not for Draco catching him before it was too late. The Slytherin glared at Teddy who was waiting by the door, a smirk on his stupid perfect face. 

“What?” Draco growled. 

“Harry, you’re late,” Teddy only said. “I’m waiting for you outside.” 

With that, he left, and the two lovers stayed silent for long seconds. 

“I hate your brother…” Draco sighed finally while helping Harry to get back on his feet. 

“No, you don’t,” Harry answered softly before kissing him one last time. “He’s your best friend and you love him.”

He grabbed his school robe and went to one of the booths to change. He was out less than a minute later. Draco tried to imitate Teddy’s puppy look to stop him from leaving but he only got a pitying smile in return. 

“See you in two weeks…” Harry sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're doing well. Please tell me what you think!!   
> See you~


	8. Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: reference to past child abuse, homophobia, internalized homophobia... you've been warned!

Of course, Harry won because Harry always won! 

It had been a good game though. Draco had felt that he had hardly ever flown that well before. The full year of almost professional training and the additional effort he had put with Harry since the beginning of that year had given them some new moves. 

Now, he was making his way to the Prefect bathroom, slightly nervous. 

Teddy had asked him a few times if he was really ready during the past two weeks. Harry had told him about the bet, apparently, and Teddy wanted to make sure neither of his friends would force themselves to do something they weren’t ready for. 

Draco and Teddy had spent some time together during those two weeks which hadn’t really happened since the end of the previous year. Draco wouldn’t admit it, but he hadn’t noticed how much he had missed that until now. Sure, Harry had been a good distraction and snogging had its perks, but it wasn’t the same as talking with your best friend for hours. 

Teddy told him that he envied Draco’s and Harry’s relationship because it looked so real. Of course, the boy was going out with his 3rd girlfriend that year, but he told Draco that it wasn’t the same and that they were merely playing around while Harry and Draco weren’t.

At least, Teddy was no longer burying himself in his endless studies about changing the world and he seemed truly happy, so Draco was happy too. Even if those girls would never be good enough for him. Draco agreed with Harry when he mentioned Granger’s crush on Teddy… The two would be good together. But it wasn’t his business and if Teddy didn’t see the girl like that… well, too bad for her. 

“ _Draco dormit_ ,” Draco mumbled the password to the door and heard a discrete click. 

Harry was already there. 

“Hey,” he said softly. 

“Hey,” Draco answered. 

But they didn’t kiss this time. They hadn’t kissed in two weeks since that day in Gryffindor changing room. It was strange… And Harry was definitely as nervous as he was. 

“So…” Draco cleared his throat. “You won…”

“Yeah… but it was a good game. You flew well…”

“I guess you were just better.”

Silent greeted them again. Yeah… awkward. 

“So… what’s my punishment?” Draco asked, pretending that this was a casual question. 

“Hum… Can you lock the door, please?” Harry asked nervously. 

“Why? Are you worried that I could run away?” Draco smirked. 

“I’m worried that someone might barge in, you idiot!” Harry snapped.

Okay… so maybe Harry wasn’t in the teasing mood at all today. 

“Harry, if you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to…” Draco started. 

“It’s not that!” Harry stopped him. Then he sighed deeply, more at himself than at Draco. “ _Colloportus!_ ” he cast on the door. “Don’t worry, I won’t touch you…” he mumbled next to Draco. 

“Harry… you’re scaring me…” Draco said, grabbing his wrist. 

Harry looked at him and seemed sad for some reason. Had he found someone else during those two weeks? Did he want to break up? Did they grow apart so easily??? Was it Weasley?! 

Soft lips met his. 

“It’s okay,” Harry whispered. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Draco answered back. He tried to deepen the kiss, but Harry stepped back. 

“So… your punishment…” he said. “Well, it’s probably not what you’re expecting… I’m not sure I’m ready to… well… go all the way… but we’ll see later… Remus said there’re other ways to… well… it’s not the subject right here… maybe as a prize if… well… If you’re still in the mood and don’t hate me and…”

“Harry!” Draco protested. “Why would I hate you?”

Harry turned to face him. He had taken out his robe and was now only wearing a shirt and a muggle jean. 

“Because, your punishment is, that you will have to listen and not question and accept that you can’t do anything about it, okay?”

Draco frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Sit,” Harry ordered. 

And Draco did as told. He sat on the bench and kept looking at his boyfriend who was really scaring him right now. Harry started to unbutton his shirt. 

“Are you doing a strip-tease?” Draco tried to joke. 

“No,” Harry answered, far too serious. 

Draco decided that he should just shut up and wait. Harry took out his shirt and his muggle jean but kept his briefs on. 

“So…” he started. “I know you have been wondering so I’ll tell you, but only today. And we won’t talk about that subject ever again, ok?”

Draco nodded without really knowing what he was agreeing to. 

“Right,” Harry sighed deeply. “Remember, it’s in the past and you can’t do anything about it, okay?”

Draco nodded again. 

Harry tiptoed for long seconds and sighed again. “So! This one,” he said, holding up his fringe and exposing his signature lightning-bolt scar, “I guess you know. Next, he raised his right arm to show him a scar on his elbow. “This one was when I was seven, my cousin, Dudley, was chasing me around with his friends – they called this game ‘ _Harry-hunting_ ’ – and I fell, broke my arm, the bone went through… nasty business, really. Same here, but I was nine,” he added showing a fainted scar on his left leg. “I tried to escape by the window, at school… forgot we were on the 2nd floor… I was stupid.” 

Draco stayed silent. He had never been engaged enough in a game to just jump by a window to win… It was a classical Gryffindor move, he guessed.

Harry turned his leg to show a bit mark behind it. 

“Aunt Marge – my Uncle’s sister – loves dogs but her dogs rarely love me… I was eight and stayed on that tree for hours waiting for her to call the mutt back inside.”

Harry sighed deeply again and turned his head to show him the scar behind his right ear. 

“I was five or six, dropped the plates while doing the dishes… they broke… They were my Aunt’s favourite… wedding gifts and all. She hit me with a frying pan…”

Something very cold settled in Draco’s gut. 

Next, Harry showed him a burn on his forearm. “Six too, let the bacon burnt because I was… probably thinking about something else… My Uncle was already late…”

“Harry…” Draco tried to talk but Harry refused to meet his eyes. 

Harry moved his hair to show him another scar that he had never seen before. 

“This was just before I turned 11, I accidentally – and magically – sent a boa on my cousin when we went to the zoo for his birthday. Hit my head when Uncle Vernon throw me in my cupboard…”

Wait… What did he mean _his_ cupboard?!! 

“And then,” Harry sighed and turned to show him the long scar on his back and side. “I was eight, Uncle Vernon forgot that he had asked me to wash the car and backed out without seeing me… He just probably didn’t see me…” Harry mumbled. “There had been other, but they have faded over time… my relatives just hate magic or me in general… can’t say…”

He then shut up, refusing to look up to meet Draco’s eyes.

“I know what you think… It’s quite pathetic for _The Boy-Who-Lived_ … I’d rather had so many scars from being on adventures and fighting magical creatures as they wrote on those fantasy novels… But it was just my family… My perfectly dysfunctional and loving family…” he said bitterly. 

Draco had to force himself to breathe again. He wanted to kill them… Who were they?!! Who dared doing something like that to his boyfriend?! And it was all before he even came to Hogwarts!!! But that wasn’t the priority. He remembered what Harry had said before telling him all this. He had to say something, or Harry will really believe that he hated him now!

“I don’t think you’re pathetic!” he sprouted. “They are the ones who are pathetic!” 

Harry shrugged and Draco couldn’t just accept that. 

“Harry, come here,” he pleaded. “Look at me…”

The Gryffindor did take a step in his direction, so he was close enough for Draco to grab his wrist and force him to take another. Yet, his eyes were definitely avoiding his. 

“Harry, none of this is your fault,” Draco said. 

“I know… In theory…” Harry sighed. “But it’s not true. They hate magic and I kept doing it around them… They’ve never asked to be my guardians, someone just dropped me on their doorstep after my parents died…”

“Harry…” Draco pleaded. He wasn’t equipped to deal with that situation at all. “Who else knows? Does Teddy know?”

Harry shook his head slowly before stopping himself. “Well, he knows that things were bad at the Dursleys’. He forced me to talk to Sirius back when we first moved in Grimmauld Place. But he’s never asked for details. I think it’s like our secret deal. I won’t ask about his godfather; he won’t ask about the Dursleys…”

“You talked to Black, then?” Draco inquired. 

Harry nodded but once again, he hesitated. 

“Harry, you talked to him, right?!”

“Yes! Yes, I have! He took me to St Mungo’s and all. I’ve had to take Skele-gro and nutritive potions for two months after that! And I also have him promised that he won’t kill the Dursleys because he had just been out of Azkaban and Teddy couldn’t afford to lose him…”

“You couldn’t afford to lose him either…” Draco corrected but Harry didn’t even acknowledge it. “What about a mind-healer? I know Black is seeing one.”

Harry shook his head. “He offered but I didn’t want to. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then, why did you tell me?” Draco asked. 

“Because you wanted to know!” Harry said defensively. “You’re always touching them! Don’t deny it, I noticed it, you know!”

Draco let go of Harry’s arm this time. 

“I didn’t know what they were…” he mumbled. “If that made you uncomfortable, I…”

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable!” Harry stopped him. “I… I don’t care! I like when you… when you touch me. But… I… I wanted you to know. To know what you’re dealing with because I’m a freak and I wanted you to know that before we do anything more… more…”

Draco didn’t miss the drop, leaving Harry’s hidden face and crashing into the marble floor. He immediately stood up to catch his boyfriend into a tight hug. 

“Don’t be stupid, Harry…” he mumbled. “You’re not a freak and you’ll never be, you hear me?” 

He took his head into his hands and dove into those watery emerald eyes. 

“I love you, okay? And nothing that had happened to you in the past will change that! Don’t think so little of me, please…” he added, trying to sidestep the fact that it was the first time that he told him those three words so clearly. 

Harry snorted loudly and Draco smiled tenderly before putting a soft kiss on his wet lips. Harry closed his eyes and let him do but stopped him when he tried to deepen their exchange. 

Draco sent him a quizzingly look. 

“It’s not in the past though…” Harry whispered. 

“Why? Are you still seeing them?!” Draco exclaimed. If Black was allowing that, he didn’t know what he would do to the man!

“No. I haven’t seen them since the day I first board the Hogwarts Express,” Harry said. “But, even now… when… when I dream about you and… and we take it a step further… he always finds us and… and those scars aren’t only on my body anymore and… I know you said that wizarding folks aren’t like that. Teddy, Sirius, and Remus told me that too but… One day, when I was there, they said in the news that a couple had been beaten to death because they’ve been holding hands in the street and they were both boys and my Uncle said that… that they deserved it and that I should just end up like them because I was a freak, just like those fags and that… that I’ll probably be the same because freaks like me would never do anything normal and… and… I proved him right, didn’t I?”

Harry was crying again while laughing disgustingly at himself, and Draco didn’t know what to do to make him stop thinking so badly about himself. He sat back on the bench, pulling Harry with him. The Gryffindor was shivering. He was only wearing his underwear after all. Draco quickly detached his robe and hung it around Harry’s shoulder. 

“You’re not a freak, Har’,” he repeated, pressing a kiss on his forehead. “And if you’re not normal, it’s not because you’re with me, it’s because you’re extraordinary in your own way and you’re beautiful and brave and funny and incredibly cute when you blush… It’s because I’ve never seen more beautiful eyes in anyone else, and that includes me! You can only be extraordinary because the grand Draco Lucius Malfoy is more than smitten with you. I love you, Har’ and I’m sorry that that bastard makes you feel so bad about yourself even after so many years. I wish you could see yourself the way I, or even Teddy, see you.” 

Harry sniffed loudly in his arms. Draco held him tightly. 

“I should go see a psychiatrist, shouldn’t I?” he mumbled in a whisper. 

“Yes, I think you should… but no one can force you to do so…”

Harry nodded slowly, resting his head against Draco’s shoulder. “Will you… will you agree to come with me if… if I decided to go see one?”

Draco froze. He hadn’t expected that. That was big. Could he do that? What if Harry needed to talk about something that he wasn’t supposed to hear?! Yet, Harry asked him. 

“If… If that’s what you want. It would be my honour…” he whispered against the dark hair. 

Harry nodded slowly again. Draco wondered if he wasn’t going to fall asleep at this rate. 

“Your punishment was awful…” he sighed. “I’ll never want to let go of you again now…”

Harry chuckled softly. “I guess that’s my prize then,” he said. “I don’t want to let you go either.”

He looked up and Draco noticed that he had stopped crying even if his face was still puffy. They kissed but it wasn’t as eager or needy as two weeks before. It was just soft and reassuring. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~~  
> Are you still there? This chapter is a bit darker than usual but I promised Harry won't be too angsty in the future! I mean, if you read Teddy you know he's not angsty!   
> Anyway, please tell me what you think!!!   
> See you~


	9. Presents

The days after Harry’s confession were a bit fuzzy in Draco’s head. 

Of course, the Weasley twins had teased Harry a bit when he went back to Gryffindor Tower in Slytherin robes, but even them admitted that green was looking good on him. Teddy asked Draco how the _punishment_ went. Draco only had to tell him that Harry told him about the Dursleys and the Hufflepuff immediately quitted asking questions – just like Harry had told him he would. 

Harry didn’t want Teddy to know the details about what he had been through because he didn’t want him to see him differently. Draco thought that was stupid, but he could see why Harry wanted to avoid having an even more overprotective brother on his back. 

In the end, Draco had asked Harry if it was okay if he talked to Black about what was going on and he agreed, as long as he wasn’t there. So, Draco asked Lord Black to meet him for the next Hogsmeade weekend. Harry was forbidden to go anyway – he apparently had to get back on his Defence against the Dark Art essay urgently. 

Once again, Draco had been nervous. Thankfully, Black had been alone. He didn’t know what he would have done his Lupin has been there too. They talked and Draco told Black what Harry had told him about his nightmares. He told him that Harry had agreed to see a mind-healer if they could stay together for the sessions. Of course, Draco also told him that Harry just had to say a word and he would leave the room without any discussion either. He just wanted to help. 

Black had listened and said nothing for a long time. It was just as Draco started wondering if he should just go that the man spoke. 

“You’re like your mother. I’m proud of you, Draco Malfoy.”

When Draco sat back next to Harry in the library, Harry freaked out because Draco couldn’t get his mind off those simple words. Harry was ready to curse his own guardian for traumatizing his boyfriend when Draco stopped him with a stolen kiss. The library was deserted anyway. 

“It’s okay. He didn’t do anything to me. I love you…”

Harry blushed as he always did at these words. 

“I love you too…” he said sheepishly. 

They set up the mind-healing sessions with Madam Pomfrey on a joint free period. It wasn’t easy at first, but Draco did his best to be there when Harry needed him. He hadn’t expected the mind-healer to ask him if he wanted sessions on his own to talk about what was going on and other matters – like his father, for example. 

Draco accepted. At first, it was primarily to share Harry’s experience. He hadn’t expected to have so much about himself to talk about – his father’s expectation and what losing him had meant to him, his childhood, his fear to disappoint his mother, Teddy, not being able to help him as he’d always helped him, his relationship with Harry, what people thought about him, about them… the fact that he was deeply afraid of not being good enough and that Harry deserved better… afraid that he could make a mistake that could cost him not only Harry but Teddy as well… then he would have nothing left.

It was strange to say all that out loud. So not worthy of the _Malfoy_ family. But so relieving. The mind-healer didn’t judge. Didn’t even talk about what his father was. What was on his vein. It was great and after some time, he started seeing changes in Harry too. 

Now it was Christmas and Teddy had promised his guardians that he would go back home so Harry was leaving too. After some bargaining with his mother and Lord Black, Draco got the permission to stay at Grimmauld Place for part of the holidays. 

“Urgh… Promise me to put soundproof charms on your door…” Teddy sighed exasperatedly in the train that was bringing them home. 

“But Teddy! We’re underage and we’re Prefects! It’s forbidden to perform magic outside school!” Harry exclaimed – imitating Granger’s tone. 

“Lucky you, I’ve just discovered that wonderful muggle invention called earplugs!” Draco smirked. 

“No way I’m sleeping with that! You find a way, but I don’t want to hear you!!”

At that point, a younger Gryffindor came knocking at their compartment and Harry – as the perfect prefect he was – went to see what was going on. 

Draco was suddenly prisoner of Teddy’s arm. 

“I don’t know what you did to him, but I like it…” he said in a low voice, staring at Harry’s back. 

The black-haired boy was smiling easily at the student who was exposing his issue. 

“Do you want to know my secret?” Draco asked in the same kind of tone. He felt Teddy nodding next to him. “He’s been seeing a mind-healer for two months already…” he whispered into his friend’s ear. 

“Really?!” Teddy exclaimed, letting him go to look at him straight in the eyes. 

Draco nodded and was suddenly attacked by the tightest hug Teddy had given him in a long time. 

“Oh Draco, I love you so much!!!!!!” 

“What’s going on?” Harry asked cryptically while looking at them. The younger student was gone. 

“I think your boyfriend is cheating on you with your brother…” Weasley sighed without looking up from the Quidditch magazine he was currently reading.

“I thought you were straight?” Harry questioned Teddy. 

Teddy raised an eyebrow and suddenly, a girl version of their best friend was with them in the compartment. She was pretty but also had really big boobs. 

“That way, I can be straight and still love your boyfriend!” Teddy said, even his voice had changed, and Draco, Harry and Ron grimaced.

“Yeah, too bad, I’m not into girls…” Draco sighed, pushing Teddy off his lap. “I’m only into the Harry.”

He smiled and Harry smirked back sitting back next to him and resting his head against his shoulder before taking out a book on psychology. 

“Oh, you’re so cute! I should ask a camera for Christmas so I can take pictures for Sirius and Remus!” Teddy exclaimed. 

“You’re disgusting… the three of you…” Weasley sneered. 

“Why don’t you go find Hermione if you’re that unhappy not to be in a relationship Ron?” Teddy asked pleasantly. 

“I don’t want your leftovers, thank you very much…”

“Ron, that’s mean,” Harry scolded him. “Is she still avoiding you?” he then asked Teddy. 

“She promised to come over to Grimmauld for New Year Eve. We were mostly okay last week, before the exams… I don’t know where she is…”

“I heard she had a date with Boot, from Ravenclaw,” Draco informed them. 

“What?!!” the three others exclaimed. 

“Just heard from Pansy this morning. I thought you knew…”

The holidays were ok. Draco did sleep in Harry’s bedroom but since Harry wasn’t ready yet, they had agreed to wait. It didn’t stop them from snogging for hours at night. And yes, sometimes their hands went down each other pyjama pants, and no, they didn’t forget to put the Muffliato charm on. It was nobody’s business anyway and they were very happy to keep it that way. 

Draco discovered that he and Harry didn’t have the same rhythm at all. 

Harry woke up early. Really early. He loved to look at Draco who needed his 8-hour-long beauty sleep. On the other hand, Draco slept late, and Harry tended to fall asleep comfortably settled against his chest while Draco was reading his book on muggle or wizarding medicine. 

It wasn’t a problem though. Draco woke up a few times to Harry soft humming as the boy was sketching something on an old notebook. It gave him some ideas for his Christmas present, and he was in desperately needs for some. Thankfully, Diagon Alley had all the magical drawing supplies one could dream of. 

It was nothing compared to what Harry gave him though. 

Draco had stayed at Grimmauld Place for Christmas after spending Yule and a few days with his mother. Of course, Black had invited his cousins for Christmas so, his mother wouldn’t be alone, and they can still spend it together. They waited for everyone to arrive before opening their presents. 

Harry’s present for him was a silver bracelet carved with the Potter family crest.

“It was my father’s,” Harry explained softly. “Your mother taught me that it was common courtesy to offer a piece of family jewellery when two members of respected families start courting…”

Draco rewarded Harry with a deep kiss which has every other people in the room beam over them. 

“Aren’t they cute~” Teddy teased comfortably seating between his guardians. 

“Shut up, Edward,” Draco scolded. He was the only one who had any right to make Harry blush like that. And he kissed him again, more gently. “Thanks, Har’. I love it.”

“I think we should toast on that!” Black exclaimed. “Kreacher, bring champagne!!”

“What?! Wait, Sirius! It’s only 11 a.m.!” Lupin protested but a trail of the finest flutes had already appeared on the coffee table. “They can’t drink, they’re underage!!” the wolf protested them after counting the number of glasses on the tray. 

“It’s okay, it’s not real alcohol, it’s champagne!” Black told him while putting a soft kiss on his lips. 

“How is champagne not alcoholic?!!” 

“Here, Harry, Draco,” Black continued ignoring him. 

“Sirius! They’re only fifteen! Narcissa, say something!!” Lupin tried to engaged Draco’s mother who was already holding her own flute. 

She smiled pleasantly but refused to take part in that argument. 

“It’s okay Rem’, it’s for a special occasion…” Black told him softly after serving everyone. “And it’s not as if it was their first drink anyway…”

“Last time they drank, they nearly killed each other!” Lupin pointed out. 

“Oh, that’s definitely not the last time we drank,” Teddy said happily. 

He immediately received a deadly glare from his guardian but was saved by his other foster parent. 

“To happy Christmas memories and the newlyweds!” Black declared. 

“Cheers!” everyone else responded. 

“We’re not getting married!!!” Harry complained loudly.

Draco only sipped the alcoholic beverage. He must admit that it was far better than the cheap firewhisky they used during their parties at school. And, as far as he was concerned, there was no way he would back Harry up on that claim. 

Back in school, Draco had a new goal. He would need Madam Pomfrey’s and Professor Snape’s advice because he only had roughly a month to achieve it. Teddy gave him some insights too. He sure had worked hard on the Wolfsbane potion and had studied ways to make potion ingredients stronger and more potent. Maybe with the right dosage of dittany or a different way to brew it… Muggles also discovered that protein called collagen that could help the skin regenerating faster. Draco had been studying it since November and managed to find plants which possessed similar composure even if they had rarely been used in healing potions so far. 

In the end, Draco came up with a new version of the scar removing salve by the beginning of February. Snape let him test his invention on him and Draco hadn’t expected his Head of House to have so many scars. The result exceeded expectations and Snape offered him to put him in contact with the patenting committee of St Mungo’s. This would surely help his internship application next summer! But Draco had other plans for now. 

On the morning of the 14th of February, Draco was sitting in Slytherin table with Teddy, Pansy, Theo, and Blaise. Teddy had just started going out with Tracey Davis from his house, so the girl was there too. 

Draco followed the owls, pretending not to care, but carefully waiting for Hedwig to land in front of her owner. 

Harry opened the small package at the other end of the Great Hall. He read the note attached to it. Granger asked him something and he shook his head slowly without looking up from the small piece of papers. 

After long seconds that felt like hours, he looked up and his eyes met Draco’s. 

‘ _I love you_ ,’ Draco mouthed silently. 

He hadn’t expected Harry to jolt up and to march through the Hall, determination beaming into his watery emerald eyes. Draco stood up, uncertain. If Harry wanted to talk, he would be ready to follow him. But Harry didn’t want to talk. He didn’t even say a word before kissing him deeply, as he only ever did in private, but this time the whole Hall was there to see. 

Draco was so shocked he couldn’t even react until a flash of a camera merely blinded him.

“Good one, Creevey! You will have to give me a copy of that shot!” Teddy exclaimed. 

Draco was ready to scold him, but Harry was still in his arms. A solitary tear rolled down his cheek, but he was smiling the most beautiful smile Draco had ever seen him. 

The small piece of paper slipped to the ground. If someone looked, they could have read the most perfect and dignified piece of calligraphy only the Heir of the Most Noble House of Malfoy could produce. 

‘ _Harry,_  
_I know that Valentine’s day is a stupid muggle holiday. I don’t need a reason to give you gifts or tell you I love you. Yet, here I am, working my beautiful ass off to create the most powerful scar removing salve before that fateful day._

 _Your scars make you who you are, and I’ll always love you with or without them. Yet, I know how much they hurt you by reminding you the past you’re trying to forget. I want you to be happy, and if that means getting rid of those marks left behind by people that I hate without even knowing them, then mote it be._

_As a complement to my gift, you will also find the Malfoy locket. It wasn’t my father’s because I want nothing to do with that man, but my grandmother’s who I loved deeply. I know it will be in good hands with you._

_I love you and I will wait as long as it takes because even if we are not getting married yet, I can’t see my life with anyone else but you._

_Sincerely yours._

_D.L.M._ ’

“I love you too, you idiot…” Harry whispered before kissing him again under a full standing ovation from the rest of their friends, dispatching in every House. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me love~


	10. Friendship

In April, they organized a big party in the Hufflepuff Common Room for Teddy’s birthday. They’d all been quite busy with O.W.L.s study but they couldn’t very much miss Teddy’s 16th birthday, could they?

Someone – probably a Weasley – spanked the punch and Harry had been even more handy than usual that evening so they finally did it… Not in Teddy’s bed! Mind you! But well, a transfigured desk in a deserted classroom was as comfortable as anything and they didn’t really have time to think about that anyway! 

It has been around a week ago and now; Draco and Teddy were doing their Prefect round together. Harry had joined them because Weasley and Granger had been fighting, again… Draco couldn’t see in what impossible future the two of them would end up marrying each other… but Teddy seemed convinced that it would happen, sooner or later. 

Despite being the birthday boy only a week before, Teddy had seemed a bit down lately. Harry had asked Draco if he knew anything but the Hufflepuff hadn’t talked to him either. Harry and Draco had been exchanging glares for almost ten minutes for one of them to ask their friend what was going on, but Harry was the Gryffindor! Not him! So, Draco wouldn’t ask! 

“I can see you guys, you know?” Teddy sighed deeply. 

“What are you talking about?” Harry exclaimed. 

But that wasn’t very convincing and both Draco and Teddy gave him a disbelieving look, so he started sulking. 

“We are just wondering if everything alright,” Draco explained – Gryffindors could really be useless sometimes. “You seem a bit down lately…”

Teddy looked at him before looking away. 

“It’s nothing… it’s just… stupid…” he sighed. 

“Try me,” Draco said while elbowing him. 

“It’s Tracey… she… last week, during the party she wanted to… well, you know.”

“Have sex!” Harry exclaimed. 

Teddy jolted and stared at him as if he had just hexed him. Draco smirked; he was getting used to that side of Harry. 

“What? You have to put the right words on the things you want to talk about. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Harry explained with a similar smirk on his face. 

Teddy turned to face Draco.

“You have a very bad influence on him, you know?” he said. 

“Sorry to disappoint you Edward, but that’s not me. It’s his mind-healer… And probably Black,” Draco defended himself. “So, she wanted to take it to the bed, and?”

Teddy was clearly uncomfortable and looked away again. 

“And… I don’t know… I got cold feet? I don’t… I don’t think I’m ready for that yet… I mean, I like her and all and I’m more comfortable around her than when I was with the others…”

“The many others…” Draco nodded but received a glare from Harry in return. 

“Did she try to force it on you?” Harry asked more smoothly. 

“No… Well, at first, she asked if there was something wrong with her and when I said no, she said it’s okay but… well, it’s been awkward between us ever since…”

Draco and Harry shared a look behind Teddy’s back. Neither of them knew Tracey Davis that well to reassure their friend. 

“Do you think I’m strange?” Teddy continued. “I mean… I’m a boy, I should be eager to just… do it? No?”

“Not necessarily…” Harry mumbled. “I mean, everyone is different.”

“Neither of you had that kind of issue! You’ve been on each other since day 1!”

“Well, our situation was a bit different,” Harry pondered. 

“First, we knew each other. And we’ve had a kind of a long-distance relationship for almost two months between the first and second times we kissed each other,” Draco added. 

“Don’t remind me…” Teddy groaned. “I know it’s my fault! I told you I was sorry, okay?”

“Draco didn’t say that to blame you, Ted’,” Harry said softly. “And for the record, I don’t know what you planned to do with Tracey but the two of us haven’t had penetrative sex before very recently, actually…”

“Really?!!” 

Teddy looked at them both, staying a bit longer on Draco, waiting for him to deny it – which he didn’t do. 

“But you stayed in the same room for almost 10 days at Christmas! And I know you put the Muffliato Charm on, Sirius’s bragged about it for weeks!”

Harry started to blush at that. Well, Draco couldn’t tell that that was very surprising coming from Black. 

“There’re other ways to warm up to each other,” Draco shrugged. “Maybe you could just, take it slow with Davis and see at what point you started feeling uncomfortable…”

Teddy grimaced. 

“Should I suggest to Sirius and Remus to give you _The Talk_ about sex not being only about who put what in who?” Harry teased. 

Teddy groaned, rolling his eyes. “Please don’t!”

“Why? I’ve got it and I survived!” Harry pointed out. 

“Speaking of second base…” Draco sighed, stopping next to a broom closet. Suspect brushing and hushing sounds were coming through the door. He knocked loudly at the door. “Come out now, it’s long past curfew. Go back to your respective Common Room or I take points!”

“Piss off, Draco!” came Blaise’s voice from the other side of the door. 

Draco smirked and Harry grimaced. None of them had noticed the way Teddy had become very still suddenly. 

“Blaise, dear, you should put your trousers back on, I’m opening the door~,” Draco said loudly, imitating Pansy. 

“Draco don’t…” Teddy tried to stop him, but the spell was already on his lips. 

“ _Alohomora_!”

Draco and Harry were sending a quizzingly look at their best friend while the door opened slowly, revealing Blaise with none other than Tracey Davis. All eyes turned to Teddy who refused to meet them back. 

“Erm… I think we should go…” Blaise said slowly, grabbing Davis’s arm.

“5 points from Slytherin, each!” Draco could only yell after them. 

They were gone but Teddy had yet to move. Harry was next to him. 

“Ted’…” he tried to get a reaction from him. 

“Well… at least, it’s clear now…” Teddy mumbled, he even tried to smile but his two friends could see how dull his turquoise hair had become. 

A strange laugh strangled him, and he turned around to flee as quickly as possible. 

Harry sent a worried look to Draco. 

“Go after him,” Draco ordered. “He needs you. I’ll finish our round, it’s almost time anyway.”

“Ok… I’ll call you later with the mirror.”

“Right.”

Draco looked at his boyfriend’s back until he disappeared into a side corridor. He wouldn’t let it slide. He couldn’t let it slide! He decided, taking the direction of the dungeons. 

“What the meaning of this?!!” he exploded just after entering Slytherin Common Room. 

Blaise and Davis had just arrived too. At least, they had the decency to not pursuing their interrupting business on their way back. 

The place was almost deserted. Only a few upper years were still up, reading, studying, or quietly talking in a corner. Theo and Pansy were there too, probably finishing one their essay issued this week.

Blaise held innocent hands to the air. 

“Don’t ask me, she told me they had broken up,” he said. “And, it’s not as if I had to force her to do anything too…”

Davis looked away. “Why are you justifying anything to him?” she asked uncomfortably. “It’s none of your business, Malfoy…” 

“What’s going on?” Pansy asked curiously. 

Draco ignored her. “He’s my best friend, it’s my business. And don’t pretend, you did it on purpose, you knew he was patrolling tonight, you wanted him to find out! Otherwise, you could just have found a hidden room here, in the dungeons!”

Davis sneered but still refused to face him. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Draco sneered back. 

“Draco, what’s going on???” Pansy insisted. 

“What’s wrong with me?!!!” Davis repeated angrily. “What’s wrong with him?!! He’s the one who started it! He’s the one who believed I’m not good enough for him! Like I’m some kind of prude or something…”

“When did he ever say that?!!”

“He doesn’t have to say it! I know! He never touches me! As if I’m going to break! I’m not made of glass for God’s sake! We’re 16! Who cares if it’s my first time?! I don’t understand why he put so much importance in this! It’s not as if I’m asking him to marry me! It’s just sex! The whole school knows that he would just do it with anyone so why not me?!”

Draco’s blood ran cold, and he grabbed the girl’s robe. 

“What did you just say?!!” 

She didn’t dare to repeat. 

“Draco, calm down…” Theo tried to stop him. 

He let Davis go and faced Blaise instead. “And you… Why?!”

“As I said, Tracey is a free woman. Who am I to refuse her if she wants to cheat on her boyfriend?”

“A decent person!” Draco answered the rhetoric question angrily. 

Davis sneered again. 

“What?” Draco asked dangerously. 

“Nothing… Just that it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s probably gay so who cares… being raised by two fags, there’s no way he turned up normal… Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want to do it. Because he’s scared, he can’t raise it… I mean, you just have to see you and Potter to know that Ted will follow your steps sooner or later… He worships you so much… it’s disgusting.”

Draco was too shocked to react. He certainly didn’t except Pansy to come up and slap the girl in the face. 

“You… You’re disgusting,” she spitted. “How dare you?!!”

Davis held her cheek, as shocked as Draco was. 

“She’s right,” Blaise sneered. “When I agreed to help you make your _ex-_ boyfriend jealous, you failed to mention it was because you were a despicable homophobic bitch… You disgust me…”

“What? Don’t tell me you find this kind of relationships normal?!!!”

“You, your father is a muggleborn, isn’t he?” Theo asked coldly. 

“You came to me; didn’t you know that I play both sides?” Blaise asked with disdain. “Because, for the records, Draco is a far better fuck that you’ll ever be.”

Draco closed his eyes when he felt the few remaining people in the common room turning his way. 

“Yay, Blaise, about that part… What about your word that what happened in the dorm, stayed in the dorm?” he sighed. 

“What? You’ve nothing to be ashamed of! You’re a good fuck! Not the best in school but probably the best in our year!” Blaise said as if he didn’t understand what was wrong in what he said. 

Draco sighed. “You,” he said looking directly into Davis’s eyes. “You’ll never come near me or my friends ever again. Is that clear?! You won’t go to Teddy, you won’t apologize, you’ll just shut your mouth… and if despite everything, he comes back to you… Well, just know that my eyes will always be on you. Always!”

He turned and climbed the few steps leading to his dorm room. He grabbed his two-way mirror and cast a privacy charm around his bed. 

“Harry?” he called. 

Harry answered only a few seconds later. 

“Draco!” Harry exclaimed when his face appeared. 

“Did you find him?”

Harry grimaced slightly and for a second, Draco feared that Teddy was lost alone somewhere in the Castle – although Harry seemed to always know where everyone was at all time. But then, a heavy mass with rainbow hair crashed on Harry’s shoulder. 

“He found me~~” Teddy announced a bit too loudly and a bit too dizzily. 

Harry sighed and pushed his best friend away. “I did… but a bottle of firewhiskey found him first…” he explained. 

“I see… Do you want me to join? Are you two okay? Where are you?”

“In a secret room up on the 7th floor. It’s called the Room of Requirement… Teddy got us here… I don’t know how he knows about it. It’s not even on the Map…”

“Do you need me?” Draco asked. 

“No, I think we’re going to be okay. The room provided us with everything we want, so currently, we have a fireplace and a large couch, but I made sure that a bed was available too…”

“Ok… Harry?” Draco called worriedly. 

Harry looked at him quizzingly. Draco moved his head slightly and the Gryffindor got the message. He took a few steps, probably away from Teddy. 

“I… I talked to Blaise and… Davis…” Draco explained in a low voice. “She’s trying to make him jealous because he refused to sleep with her…”

“She’s a bitch…” Harry growled. 

“Yeah… I’ll tell you more later… Anyway, just so you know if I don’t catch you before you go to the Great Hall tomorrow morning… there’ll probably be a rumour about Blaise and me sleeping together… For the record, it was last year, before we were together!” he said quickly. 

Harry stayed silent and for a moment Draco wondered if he was pissed. 

“Ok… I trust you, Drake… We’ll talk later then…” he said in a far too neutral voice. 

“You mad?” Draco grimaced.

“That you’re sharing a dorm room with your ex, but you failed to mention it during our 10-month relationship?” Harry asked. “Why would I be?”

Draco’s grimace deepened. Of course, if he wanted to say it like that…

“We didn’t go out together… I won’t call him an ex. We’ve just been… experimenting?”

“You don’t have to justify yourself, Draco…” Harry sighed. “It’s ok, I trust you. I need to go; Teddy just made the room provide tequila…”

“Harry! Wait!” Draco called back.

“What?”

“Call me if you need anything or if something happens, okay? I won’t be sleeping…”

Harry looked at him thoughtfully and eventually nodded. 

“Okay. Love you.”

“I love you too. Take care of him.”

“Promise. See you later.”

The mirror blurred and only his own reflect appeared in it. Draco sighed and crashed on his mattress. Why couldn’t Blaise just shut his mouth?! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for neglecting this fic... to be honest, I stuck with chapter 15 so I hesitated whereas I should wait to manage to write more before releasing this chapter or not... 
> 
> Anyway, please tell me what you think! Comments and kudos give me motivation!!!!


	11. Future plans

“Draco?” 

Draco opened his eyes immediately and sent a look at the permanent tempus on his nightstand. It was 1 a.m. He grabbed his two-way mirror and tried to straighten his hair a bit on its reflect before answering. 

“Harry,” he said as clearly as possible. Of course, his teenage voice croaked more loudly than he would have liked… So much for his smooth answer. 

The surface of the mirror blurred, and his boyfriend’s face appeared. 

“Did I wake you?” Harry asked softly. 

“No! No. I told you can call me!” Draco said. “Is everything ok?”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah… he fell asleep around half an hour ago.”

Relief flew through Draco’s body, but he could tell from Harry’s face that something else was going on. 

“Do you want me to come over? Are you still in that room?”

Harry hesitated before taking something from his pocket. Draco couldn’t see what it was as Harry displayed it off-screen. 

“I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good…” he muttered, and Draco raised an eyebrow. That was new… Harry then sighed profusely. “You can’t,” he said. “Snape is currently patrolling the dungeons… Doesn’t he have better things to do at 1 a.m.?!”

Draco smirked softly. “Maybe the disappearance of two 5th year prefects, one of whom was supposed to be on duty tonight, didn’t go unnoticed?” he offered. 

Harry smiled tiredly. 

“So, tell me, what’s going on?” Draco asked again. 

Harry sighed. “It’s Teddy, alcohol made him quite sad…”

Draco nodded. It wasn’t like him, but, regarding the circumstances, this could be understandable. 

“He talked about his godfather…” Harry explained. 

“What?!”

“Yeah… He told me that, one day, he caught his aunt – his godfather’s wife – cheating on him and that she was pregnant with her lover’s baby, but he’s never got the time to warn his godfather…”

“Shit…” 

“It would have happened not long before his godfather’s death. I mean, we don’t even know how sudden it was, but it must have been sudden! He wouldn’t have left his godson alone like that otherwise. Do you think that’s why his aunt didn’t take him in after her husband’s death? Because she was starting over with her lover and wanted nothing to do with her late husband’s godson?”

Even though the mirror, Draco could feel how troubled Harry was right now. It could be bad if he let that kind of thoughts catch him. And Draco wasn’t there to lend him a shoulder.

“Harry, Teddy didn’t have the same childhood as you did. He told you that his aunt wasn’t that bad, didn’t he?”

“But he was left alone at 11! He’s supposed to have an extensive loving family. They were all his godfather’s best friends and none of them has even looked for him in 5 years!”

Draco remembered having been thinking about the same things for years. But there was nothing they could do…

“Maybe it’s not that simple… He lived abroad before, didn’t he? And his godfather was an Unspeakable… Maybe his family doesn’t even know he’s dead or that Teddy’s alone… We still don’t know what happened. He didn’t talk about that, did he?” Harry shook his head. “So, you can’t draw conclusions based on your own childhood. You don’t know the situation.” Draco sighed. “Last summer, when he came to me after the howler, he talked to me about changing the future and stuff… I think his godfather’s death is linked to one of his visions and that the man died while trying to change what is bounded to happen… He had a meltdown when I asked him if I was right…”

“You did what?!” Harry asked with a blank face. Draco could tell that he was getting angry with him. 

“I know, it was stupid and insensitive on my part!” he defended himself. “The point is, that would explain why he felt so responsible for the man’s disappearance… and also how he reacted to Diggory’s death. Maybe his godfather’s mission was linked to Teddy’s gift and maybe Teddy is trying to pursue the man’s job and that’s why he has never contacted his family to tell them what happened. Anyway, you shouldn’t project your own experience on him, you know what the mindhealer says…”

Harry nodded but didn’t look any better. 

“He kept on asking me to promise him that I’d never married Ginny Weasley,” he chuckled slightly, trying to lighten his mood. 

“Why would you marry the She-Weasley?” Draco chocked. 

“I don’t know… It’s not something I see myself doing in any near future. I’m very content with my current relationship after all…”

“Are you now?” Draco teased and the ghost of a smile appeared in Harry’s face before fading away again. 

“I wish you were here…” he mumbled. 

“I wish I was with you too…”

“But Snape is still patrolling, he’s just outside your common room right now…” Harry sighed while looking at something on his lap. 

Suddenly, Harry jolted up and looked at something Draco couldn’t see. 

“What?” Draco asked. 

“That door wasn’t here before…”

“What???”

Harry got up and turned the mirror so Draco could see too. He came closer to the door and open it. 

“What…”

“…that’s Slytherin Common Room…” Draco answered Harry’s unspoken question in awe. “Wait here.”

He got up and quickly dressed before taking his wand and his mirror and going down to the Common Room. Harry was looking at him from a door that had never been there before. 

“Wicked…” Harry muttered, and his voice echoed in Draco’s mirror. 

Draco joined him and they kissed softly. As Draco was inspecting the new magical room, he heard Harry gasped slightly. He turned and saw that the door he had just come by had disappeared. 

“Did you wish that I was stuck here with you?” he teased Harry. 

Harry pulled out his tongue and Draco chuckled slightly. 

“Now, care to explain why there’s another you in the bed?” Draco asked. 

“It’s Teddy…” Harry sighed next to him. “He said he was missing me…”

Draco raised an eyebrow. 

“How can I tell that you’re the real Harry then?”

“You know I’m the real Harry, you git…” Harry sighed. “Otherwise, how would I know that you have a mole on your left cheek?”

“Harry might have mentioned that to you, Edward…”

“I don’t talk about your ass with Teddy!” Harry exclaimed. “Not in details, at least…”

Draco laughed lightly and took his boyfriend in his arms to kiss him. Harry wouldn’t let go with a light kiss though. And after a long minute of tender snogging et finally settled down against his neck. 

“How do you feel?” Draco asked softly. 

“I’m ok… I’m just worried about him.” Harry sighed. “He asked me if he should try it with a guy and to suggest him a few names…”

“Who did you pick?”

“It wasn’t easy. He refused Ron, Fred, George or any Weasley… and you met Charlie, he’s hot…” Draco pinched Harry’s ass at that comment – even if he agreed with him. “Then, I proposed Seamus or Dean… Maybe McLaggen – our new keeper, Teddy actually threw up at that point…”

Draco shook his head. “Why are you only suggesting Gryffindors?!”

“I can’t seriously suggest Zabini, could I?”

“I’m sure Blaise would be open to that…”

“Yeah? Well, he just screwed Teddy’s girlfriend and, apparently, Teddy’s best friend too! So, no…” Harry snapped. 

Draco grimaced. Why did he get the impression that his experimentations with Blaise would stay in Harry’s mind far longer than they should?

“Anyway. In the end, he said he should try to seduce Creevey, because I quote ‘ _he was dead anyway_ ’, end-quote.”

Draco grimaced for another reason. 

“We should probably forbid him to drink ever again, shouldn’t we?”

“That could be an idea, yeah…” Harry agreed while yawning. 

“Let’s sleep,” Draco offered. “It’s late already.”

Harry nodded and sneaked into the bed next to Teddy. The mattress was large enough for the three of them anyway. Draco looked at them and sighed. It was creepy. 

“Hey, Edward?” Draco called waiting for a grunt from his best friend to continue. “You may consider changing your appearance now if you don’t want me to shag you in your sleep by mistake…”

Teddy groaned and morphed into what looked like a 5-year-old a child with turquoise blue hair. He sat up and climbed above Harry’s body to squeeze himself back between Harry and Draco. 

“No nasty business…” he sighed still half-asleep. “There’s a child in the bed.”

Draco rolled his eyes while Harry chuckled softly. The fake-child hide his face against the Gryffindor’s chest. Harry hugged him back and Draco just watched them with a loving smile on his face, wondering if this could be their future in a few years.

The next morning, Teddy seemed not to be remembering much of his evening. Draco told them that Davis was a homophobic bitch and they decided not to talk about all that anymore. This incident seemed to have calmed down Teddy’s quest of looking for the girl of his dreams. Their O.W.L.s exams were only two months away after all, so they had better things to do. 

They had their Careers Advice session with their respective Head of House. Both Draco and Teddy were pretty certain of what they wanted to become but Harry seemed completely lost. Teddy insisted that Harry should be an Auror, it was Weasley’s goal too after all – but Draco doubted the boy could achieve enough O.W.L.s, let alone N.E.W.T.s, to do it.

“What about a Professional Quidditch Player?” Weasley suggested. “You’re so good, I’ve never seen someone fly like you! I’m sure any team would kill to have you!!!”

“Sirius told us that it was your father’s dream too,” Teddy nodded. “Before the war and all…”

Harry fingered his robe. They were all sat on the grass next to the Black Lake. It was one of the first sunny weekends they got since winter so they all agreed that they could take a break in their revision schedule to enjoy a bit of sun. Draco had claimed the seat against the tree and Harry had settle next to him, his head resting slightly against his shoulder. 

“I don’t know…” the Gryffindor admitted. “I can’t imagine McGonagall’s face if I tell her that I want to become a Professional Quidditch Player… She would probably be… doubtful.”

“As she should be,” Granger nodded. “It’s not a very serious career choice! Only a handful of people can do that. And maybe you’re good here in school but professional competition is a whole next level!”

Draco frowned at her words. It was a bit too patronizing for his taste. And Harry was, by far, the best seeker Hogwarts had seen in at least 10 years. Even with considering the fact that they didn’t know much about the level of international players right now, that was already putting him as one of the best seekers in the UK and Ireland. In his opinion, Harry even got a chance to get picked for the English National Team in a few years, Blythe Parkin wasn’t so young anymore… Of course, Draco couldn’t state publicly that he agreed with Weasley, but he would make sure to support Harry if he ever chose that path. 

“Wood joined Puddlemere United,” Weasley protested. 

“As a reserve player,” Granger commented. “And he has yet to play any match. And he had been captain of the Gryffindor team for 4 years! In comparison, Harry could be Captain for a maximum of 2 years and that only if the team accept him next year! Additionally, I heard that seekers are changed far less frequently than keepers so, except if one of the team loses its seeker in exactly two years, I doubt Harry would have any chance to get picked!” 

“Hum… I’m not sure it’s for me anyway but thanks for the support ‘Mione… It goes directly to my heart…” Harry sighed. 

“Don’t be like that Harry. You know you aren’t even remotely as obsessed by Quidditch as Wood was…” she said. “I mean, we all know you’re a wonderful player Harry… it’s just… not serious. So, you should think about a back-up plan, I think…”

“Hum…”

Harry sighed again and slipped his body to use Draco’s lap as a pillow. 

“Honestly… Sirius told me that between my parents’ heritage and his, I could probably live the rest of my life without having to work a single day,” he said. 

“You can’t be serious Harry!” Granger exclaimed outraged. 

“Why not? _Sirius_ seems like a pretty good goal – except the wrongly imprisoned part for 10 years, of course… And it’s true. I don’t say that I would never work… just… well, I don’t _need _a back-up plan, I already have a back-up plan!”__

__“By doing nothing all day?!! How is that a plan?!!!”_ _

__“Don’t worry, Harry. Once I’ve become a famous Potion Master if your inheritance runs short and Sirius and Remus are no longer there to take care of you, I’ll take charge of everything!” Teddy announced brightly. “You can be my proxy as Lord Black if you want!”_ _

__“Thanks, Ted,” Harry said, eyeing quickly at Draco._ _

__Draco raised an interrogative eyebrow when their eyes met but Harry shook slightly his head. So, he didn’t ask. Maybe Harry wanted him to take a side in front of his friends? But Draco would rather talk to him privately. They could talk later._ _

__“You can’t possibly think that Professor McGonagall will accept that! This is not an acceptable career path! As for you, Ron,” Granger continued. “You can’t be serious with that choice. Do you know what is required and how bad your grades actually are???”_ _

__Draco quitted listening, distractively playing with Harry’s mop of hair. It was easy for him; he had known forever that he wanted to be a mediwizard and Teddy had been pushing him in that direction for 5 years already. He wondered what Harry could do. His grades were ok. He was even on the top of the class in Defence and Care, and not far from the top on charm and herbology._ _

__“Magizoologist?” he whispered. Harry loved playing around with the half-giant’s beasts._ _

__Harry looked at him and shook his head slightly._ _

__“Curse-breaker?”_ _

__“Wouldn’t that force me to travel a lot?” Harry asked with a frown._ _

__“Well, I guess…”_ _

__“Then, no… I haven’t taken Ancient Runes anyway, so it’s probably a no go…”_ _

__“… if you really want to be an auror, you need to go back to your studies right now!!” Granger was saying. “Let’s go!”_ _

__“What?!! No! I don’t want to!! Harry, save me!!!!”_ _

__“See you later~,” Harry told them while waving his hands without moving from Draco’s laps._ _

__“You’re leaving too?” Draco asked Teddy._ _

__“Yes. Professor Sprout had promised me that I could help her with the flutterby bushes, and I need practice!” he said with a smile. “See you, later.”_ _

__“Later…”_ _

__He left and it was suddenly only the two of us. Harry sighed, closing his eyes. He grabbed Draco’s hand and kissed his fingers softly._ _

__“What is it?” Draco asked._ _

__“Nothing…”_ _

__“Harry, you can talk to me. No matter what you chose, I’ll support you.”_ _

__Harry sighed. “I just don’t understand why everyone is making such a big deal about it. We’re not even 16 yet and I bloody don’t know what I want to do with my life!”_ _

__“You do know that whatever you say to McGonagall doesn’t have to be a definitive decision, right?” Draco asked._ _

__“Of course, I know. It doesn’t help that you all seem so sure about what you want to do… I feel like… I don’t know… That I don’t have any dream or ambition or whatever…”_ _

__Draco could sense the frustration in his words, and he resumed playing with his hair with his free hand._ _

__“What did you want to do when you were younger?” he asked._ _

__“I don’t know… Survive? Earning enough money to run away from that bloody house? Even if I doubt that my relatives would have kept me in after I turn 18…”_ _

__Draco sighed and put a kiss on Harry’s forehead. The Gryffindor seemed to relax a bit under that gesture._ _

__“They do not define you, Har’,” he whispered, repeating the mindhealer’s words. “What do you truly want?”_ _

__“Nothing… Just a normal life. A happy family like I have with Sirius and Remus and Teddy. Can’t I just… stay home and wait for you to come back from work? I’m a decent cook, you know? And you won’t need a house-elf, I can do all the housework, and…”_ _

__Draco couldn’t help a smile at the mere thought of the house life Harry was imagining for them._ _

__“I’ll never have you do all the housework, Harry… That’s what magic is for,” he said. “But I’ll be happy to taste your cooking from now and then. Do you like to cook? What about being a chef? Or a pâtissier, maybe? Teddy told me that you like to bake cakes… you could use your drawing skills on the icing and all…”_ _

__Harry sighed and looked away. “I don’t know… I love to cook for the people that I care about… but doing it for strangers is just… I don’t know.”_ _

__Draco studied his traits. Harry seemed stressed out by the situation. He thought back at that night when Teddy pretended to be a 5-year-old so they wouldn’t shag while he was in the room. How happy Harry had looked. It was only a few weeks back though._ _

__“You know, I wouldn’t mind coming back home to you every day,” he admitted, caressing his cheek softly. “I don’t care if you don’t have a job or don’t do anything all day, as long as you’re happy.”_ _

__Harry looked back at him, forcing him to lean down and kiss him._ _

__“I love you Draco… I just want to stay with you and everyone, I don’t want anything to change…”_ _

__“Nothing will change, Har’… I’ll still be there and your friends too. Merlin, Teddy is practically your brother! It would need something big to get him out of your life! As you said, we still have two years to go and then…”_ _

__“Then you will go away to become a mediwizard and you’ll meet people that are as ambitious and awesome as you are, and I’ll just be a pathetic jobless guy who does nothing of his day… You’ll grow sick of me and you’ll leave…”_ _

__Draco frowned, grabbed his wand, and spelt a wordless stinging hex at his boyfriend._ _

__“Hey! What was that for???” Harry protested._ _

__“For being a git! There’s no way that I just grow sick of you so easily! And we’re not there yet so stop talking about it like if it was doomed to happen! We just need to find something to tell McGonagall, so she knows that you’re seriously thinking about your future!”_ _

__Harry pouted and looked away again._ _

__“What about mind-healer?” Draco said after long minutes of thinking. “You’re already learning occlumency for your therapy. You could ask to take it as a N.E.W.T subject. That way you could stay with me in medical school and you only need an A in Potions as you will be required to specialize in Legilimency and Psychology later on…”_ _

__Harry stayed silent for long seconds and finally turned his head to face him._ _

__“Yeah… I think I’d like that…”_ _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I guess I must tell you that I haven't actually worked on this fic in months... Chapter 12 to 14 are already written but I kind of lost my motivation after that... Maybe it will be back at some point, who knows?  
> Anyways, reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you all for leaving kudos !!


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